Surface-Enhanced Resonance Raman Scattering of Rhodamine 6G in Dispersions and on Films of Confeito-Like Au Nanoparticles

Surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) of rhodamine 6G was measured on confeito-like Au nanoparticles (CAuNPs). The large CAuNPs (100 nm in diameter) in aqueous dispersion systems showed stronger enhancing effect (analytical enhancement factor: over 105) of SERRS than the small CAuNPs (50 nm in diameter), while the spherical Au nanoparticles (20 nm in diameter) displayed rather weak intensities. Especially, minor bands in 1400–1600 cm−1 were uniquely enhanced by the resonance effect of CAuNPs. The enhancement factors revealed a concentration dependence of the enhancing effect at low concentration of rhodamine 6G. This dependency was due to a large capacity of hot-spots on CAuNPs, which were formed without agglomeration. The surface-enhancing behaviour in the film systems was similar to that in the dispersions, although the large CAuNPs had lower enhancing effect in the films, and the small CAuNPs and the spherical Au nanoparticles were more effective in their films. These results suggest that the CAuNPs have an advantage in ultrasensitive devices both in dispersions and films, compared to the agglomerate of spherical Au nanoparticles.