EFFECT OF SOLVENT ON SURFACE ENHANCED RAMAN SCATTERING SPECTRA OF COLLOIDAL SILVER

The effect of solvent on surface enhanced Raman scattering [SERS) of colloidal silver has been studied. Experiments show that the intensity of SERS is related to the polarity and molecular constitution of the solvent. The influence of solvent is due to the change of the adsorption quantity and adsorption intensity.

THE CHARACTERIZATION OF SILVER SUBCOLLOID USED IN SURFACE ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY

A clear light-yellow silver sol which has the visible spectral absorption at 390 nm, when adsorbed phenylmercaptotetrazole(PMT) or mercaptobenzothiazole(MBT), has a new absorption at 510-550 nm. It was found that the adsorption of halide ions competes with PMT and MBT. However, halide ions have a completely different influence from PMT and MBT on the spectral absorption of the silver sol. The differences may result from the change of the properties of the surface of the silver subcolloidal particles and from the bond forms combining adsorbates with the substrates.

SURFACE ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTRA OF PHENYLMERCAPTOTETRAZOLE AND MERCAPTOBENZOTHIAZOLE ON SILVER

Normal Haman Spectra(NRS) of solid PMT (1-phenyl-5-mercaptotetrazole) and MBT (2-mercaptobenzothiazole) and their surface enhanced Raman spectra (SERS) adsorbed on the surface of the silver subcolloidal particles are reported and compared. It is supposed that PMT adsorbed on silver with both N and S atoms whereas MBT may be adsorbed on silver through S atom.

On the fluorescence enhancement mechanism of Er^(3+) in germanate glass containing silver particles

The spectral properties of trivalent erbium ions（Er^3＋） are systematically studied in a melt-quenched germanate glass（60 GeO2-20PbO-10BaO-10K2O-0.1Ag2O） containing silver（Ag） particles.Thermal treatment of the material leads to the precipitation of Ag particles as observed by transmission electron microscopy and confirmed by absorption spectrum for the obvious surface plasmon resonance peak of Ag particles.The fluorescence from Er^3＋ in the 10-min-annealed sample with Ag particles is found to be 4.2 times enhanced compared with the unannealed sample excited by 488-nm Ar＋ laser.A comparison is made between a spectral study performed on the unannealed Er^3＋-doped sample and the one annealed for 20 min.The data of absorption cross section and Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters show the agreement between the two samples no matter whether there are Ag particles,indicating that the introduction of Ag particles by post-heat treatment has no effect on the crystal field environment of Er^3＋ ions.The fluorescence enhancement is attributed to the surface plasmon oscillations of Ag particles in germanate glass.

Acid/Base Treatment of Monolithic Activated Carbon for Coating Silver with Tunable Morphology

Silver coatings on the exterior surface of monolithic activated carbon（MAC） with different morphology were prepared by directly immersing MAC into [Ag（NH3）2]NO3 solution. Acid and base treatments were employed to modify the surface oxygenic groups of MAC, respectively. The MACs＇ Brunauer-EmmettTeller（BET） surface area, surface groups, and silver coating morphology were characterized by N2 adsorption, elemental analysis（EA）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）, and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, respectively. The coating morphology was found to be closely related to the surface area and surface functional groups of MAC. For a raw MAC which contained a variety of oxygenic groups, HNO3 treatment enhanced the relative amount of highly oxidized groups such as carboxyl and carbonates, which disfavored the deposition of silver particles. By contrast, Na OH treatment significantly improved the amount of carbonyl groups, which in turn improved the deposition amount of silver. Importantly, lamella silver was produced on raw MAC while Na OH treatment resulted in granular particles because of the capping effect of carbonyl groups. At appropriate [Ag（NH3）2]NO3 concentrations, silver nanoparticles smaller than 100 nm were homogeneously dispersed on Na OH-treated MAC. The successful tuning of the size and morphology of silver coatings on MAC is promising for novel applications in air purification and for antibacterial or aesthetic purposes.

Synthesis of newly cationic surfactant based on dimethylaminopropyl amine and their silver nanoparticles:Characterization;surface activity and biological activity

The chemical structure of newly synthesized cationic surfactants based on Schiff base was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy,and mass spectroscopy.The synthesized surfactants were used in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles by a simple one-step method.The silver nanoparticle（AgNPs） formation was confirmed using transmission electron microscopy（TEM）,electron diffraction（SAED）,dynamic light scattering（DLS）,and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy（EDX）.The structure of the surfactant played an important role in the synthesis process.Increasing the hydrophobic chain length,the stability,and the amount of surfactant increased the quantity of AgNPs formed.The surface activity of the synthesized cationic surfactants was determined using surface tension measurements at three different temperatures.The synthesized surfactants showed a high tendency toward adsorption and micellization.Increasing the hydrophobic chain length of the synthesized surfactant increased its adsorption.Screening the synthesized cationic surfactants and their nano-form against bacteria and fungi showed that they are highly effective.The silver nanoparticles enhanced the biological activity of the synthesized cationic surfactants.

Electrosynthesis and catalytic properties of silver nano/microparticles with different morphologies

Electrosynthesis of powdery silver particles can be effectively carried out with an H20-oleic acid or an H20-glycerol mix solvent （volume ratio 1：1） as the electrolytic medium and AgN03 as the supporting electrolyte. Experimental results indicate that the presence or absence of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate （SDS） and the choice of electrolytic medium have a significant impact on the shape and size of the prepared Ag particles. With H20-glycerol as the electrolytic medium, spherical Ag nanoparticles can be obtained in the presence of SDS （0.6g/L）, while an Ag sample electrodeposited without SDS has a dendritic microcrystalline structure. For the reduction of methyl orange （MO） and methylene blue （MB） with NaBH4 as the reducing agent, the spherical Ag nanoparticles exhibit much better catalytic activity than the dendritic Ag microparticles. Further investigations show that surface modification by an oleic acid medium could greatly improve the catalytic activity of the electrodeposited Ag particles for the reduction of MO and MB.

Decoupling co-existing surface plasmon polariton （SPP） modes in a nanowire plasmonic waveguide for quantitative mode analysis

Knowledge of surface plasmon polariton （SPP） modes in one-dimensional （1D） metallic nanostructures is essential for the development of subwavelength optical devices such as photonic circuits, integrated light sources, and photo- detectors. Despite many efforts to characterize the propagation parameters of these subwavelength 1D plasmonic waveguides, such as Ag nanowires, large discrepancies exist among available reports owing to their sensitivity to the relative weights of co-existing SPP modes and the lack of a method of decoupling these modes and analyzing them separately. In this work, we develop an interference method to distinguish different SPP modes that are simultaneously excited in a Ag nanowire waveguide and measure their propagation parameters separately. By extracting information from the propagation-distance- dependent intensity oscillations of the scattered light from the nanowire tip, the effective refractive indices, propagation lengths, and relative mode weights of co-existing SPP modes supported by the nanowire are derived from a mode interference model. These parameters depend strongly on the nanowire diameter and excitation wavelength. In particular, we demonstrate the possibility of selective excitation of different SPP modes by varying the nanowire diameter. This new mode analysis technique provides unique insights into the develop- ment and optimization of SPP-based applications.

Study on the chemisorption kinetics of Methylene Blue using SERS technique

SERS technique wae used to study the chemiesorption kinetics of Methylene Blue (MB) on the HNO3-etched silver surface. The adsorption kinetic parameters were deduced from different vibrational modes at a low concentration of 3.5 × 10?6 mol/L, and it showed that MB adsorbed uniformly (monolayerly) on silver surface. However, the adsorptive behavior turned anomalous at relatively higher concentrations and a possible explanation was suggested. In addition, the influence of Cl? ions on the adsorption states of MB was investigated, and it was shown that MB molecules, adsorbed on the silver surface, tended to transform the “lying-down” state to the “end - on” 4 state after CI? ions were added.