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Reduction of silver nanoparticles onto graphene oxide nanosheets with N,N-dimethylformamide and SERS activities of GO/Ag composites

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Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been homogeneously deposited onto graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets by an optimal method, in which N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as a co-dispersant of GO and reductant of sliver ions is added to an aqueous suspension of GO and AgNO3. GO nanosheets are uniformly covered by Ag NPs with a narrow size distribution and inter-particle gap. Raman signals of GO are greatly enhanced after deposition owing to the charge transfer interaction of GO with Ag NPs. The GO/Ag composite can be further utilized as an effective surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active substrate. Several new Raman bands and frequency shifts are clearly observed in using 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) as a Raman probe on GO/Ag compared to the normal Raman spectrum of solid 4-ATP. The Raman enhancement arises from a major electromagnetic effect and a minor chemical effect.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the National Science Foundation of China (20804014, 50825301, and 51073050), Chinese Ministry of Education (210131), Hubei Provincial Department of Science & Technology (2009CDA021 and 2010CDB04606), and Wuhan Science & Technology Bureau of China (201050231088). YKY was a Visiting Scholar to and supported by the CAMT at the University of Sydney.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry-of-Education Key Laboratory for Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, China

    Ying-Kui Yang, Cheng-En He, Wen-Jie He, Lin-Juan Yu, Ren-Gui Peng & Xian-Bao Wang

  2. Center for Advanced Materials Technology (CAMT) School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, J07, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Ying-Kui Yang & Yiu-Wing Mai

  3. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Xiao-Lin Xie

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  1. Ying-Kui Yang
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Correspondence to Ying-Kui Yang.

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Yang, YK., He, CE., He, WJ. et al. Reduction of silver nanoparticles onto graphene oxide nanosheets with N,N-dimethylformamide and SERS activities of GO/Ag composites. J Nanopart Res 13, 5571–5581 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0550-5

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