Patchy silica-coated silver nanowires as SERS substrates

We report a class of core–shell nanomaterials that can be used as efficient surface-enhancement Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. The core consists of silver nanowires, prepared through a chemical reduction process, that are used to capture 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA), a model analyte. The shell was prepared through a modified Stöber method and consists of patchy or full silica coats. The formation of silica coats was monitored via transmission electron microscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, and phase-analysis light-scattering for measuring effective surface charge. Surprisingly, the patchy silica-coated silver nanowires are better SERS substrate than silver nanowires; nanomolar concentration of 4-MBA can be detected. In addition, “nano-matryoshka” configurations were used to quantitate/explore the effect of the electromagnetic field at the tips of the nanowire (“hot spots”) in the Raman scattering experiment.