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  • Review Article
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Nanostructure-based plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for surface analysis of materials

Nature Reviews Materials volume 1, Article number: 16021 (2016) Cite this article

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An Erratum to this article was published on 17 May 2016

Abstract

Since 2000, there has been an explosion of activity in the field of plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (PERS), including surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) and shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS). In this Review, we explore the mechanism of PERS and discuss PERS hotspots — nanoscale regions with a strongly enhanced local electromagnetic field — that allow trace-molecule detection, biomolecule analysis and surface characterization of various materials. In particular, we discuss a new generation of hotspots that are generated from hybrid structures combining PERS-active nanostructures and probe materials, which feature a strong local electromagnetic field on the surface of the probe material. Enhancement of surface Raman signals up to five orders of magnitude can be obtained from materials that are weakly SERS active or SERS inactive. We provide a detailed overview of future research directions in the field of PERS, focusing on new PERS-active nanomaterials and nanostructures and the broad application prospect for materials science and technology.

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Figure 1: Key developments in PERS for material science.
Figure 2: First- and second-generation SERS hotspots for trace-molecule detection.
Figure 3: Third-generation hotspots for surface analysis.
Figure 4: Different measurement modes of Raman and PERS on hard and soft materials.
Figure 5: Selected applications of SERS and SHINERS in material systems.
Figure 6: Selected examples of TERS applications in material systems.

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Acknowledgements

This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91427304, 21533006, 21321062 and 21522508) and Ministry of Science and Technology (2015CB932300). The authors thank X-Y. Cao for the English editing of this manuscript.

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  1. State Key Laboratory for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, iChEM, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Song-Yuan Ding, Jun Yi, Jian-Feng Li, Bin Ren, De-Yin Wu, Rajapandiyan Panneerselvam & Zhong-Qun Tian

  2. MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Jian-Feng Li & Bin Ren

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Ding, SY., Yi, J., Li, JF. et al. Nanostructure-based plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for surface analysis of materials. Nat Rev Mater 1, 16021 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2016.21

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