Ag@Ni–NiO NW Core–Shell Nanowires: A Reliable Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Substrate

Abstract

This research presents the development of a reliable Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) substrate synthesized by a two-step process to enhance the detection capabilities for N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and rhodamine (R6G). Initially, silver nanowires (Ag NWs) were synthesized through a two-step polyol method, followed by a coating with Ni–NiO (Ag@Ni–NiO NWs) to improve the stability and reproducibility of the SERS substrate. The developed substrate combines the plasmonics, chemical, and magnetoplasmonics effects to achieve signal amplification. The experimental findings demonstrated an impressive enhancement factor of 10¹¹ for Neu5Ac, alongside a remarkable reproducibility over 120 days for R6G. Furthermore, the substrates achieved a limit of detection of 10^–10 M for both analytes, indicating significant potential for application in sensitive biochemical detection. This study underlines the effectiveness of the proposed SERS substrate in providing reliable and high-performance detection and opens the door for SERS techniques for use in clinical testing.