From Fundamental toward Applied SERS: Shared Principles and Divergent Approaches

摘要

Over more than 40 years since its discovery, surface-enhanced Raman scattering/rnspectroscopy (SERS) has attracted substantial attention as a tool forrnfundamental research in surface science and for potential analytical sensingrnapplications. This review aims to concisely summarize the essential principlesrnof both the physical and chemical processes underlying Raman signalrnenhancement, as well as elements of the broader field of plasmonics that arernmost relevant to SERS. In order to make sense of the overwhelming variety ofrnSERS platforms that are reported, the fabrication, properties, and operationalrnprinciples of enhancing substrates are given particular attention here in therncontext of specific application requirements. While the high spatial precisionrnof lithographic techniques has helped to improve the understanding ofrnplasmonic platforms, their prohibitive cost has encouraged the explorationrnof more facile fabrication methods for more widespread adoption of SERS.rnSelected examples are introduced to illustrate common themes that recur inrnfundamental studies, analytical applications, and efforts to produce stable,rnaffordable, and robust SERS sensing platforms.