Optimum growth time in AgPt nanofern preparation for enhancement of surface-enhanced Raman scattering intensity*

Norhayati Abu Bakar, Nur Adliha Abdullah, Muhamad Mat Salleh, Akrajas Ali Umar and Joseph George Shapter

Abstract

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a phenomenon where the signal of the Raman spectrum of an analyte increased due to a plasmonic effect of metal nanoparticles. This phenomenon is potentially be implemented in biosensor application to detect the presence of a molecule in blood and urine. This paper reports a study on bimetallic thin film of argentum-platinum (AgPt) nanoferns as a SERS substrate for detection of creatinine. Nanofern-shaped AgPt was prepared directly on ITO surface using liquid phase deposition technique. The growth time of the AgPt preparation was varied from 5 to 60 min to study the effect of growth time towards deposition of AgPt nanofern on the surface. This sensitivity of SERS measurement was studied by comparing the Raman spectra of creatinine on ITO surface and creatinine on AgPt surface. We observed that the sensitivity of the spectroscopy system towards creatinine molecule detection is dependent on the morphology structures of AgPt substrate