Controllable and reversible hot spot formation on silver nanorod arrays

摘要

Reversible hot spot formation is achieved for free-standing silver nanorod (AgNR) arrays fabricated by oblique angle deposition and modified with a hydrophilic surface coating. Locations exhibiting exceedingly high enhanced Raman scattering on a noble metal surface, ie. hot spots, are believed to be the contributing factor to the exceptional Raman enhancement generated by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. Hot spots are anticipated to primarily reside within nano-sized gaps in the interstitial space of nanostructure assemblies.