Synthesis of Silver Decorated Silica Nanospheres for Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Substrates

A sol-gel technique has been used to synthesize silver decorated silica nanospheres for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. X- Ray diffraction (XRD) spectra shows peak at 2θ = 38.1, 44.6, 64.7, and 77.5° confirming the presence of Ag nanoparticles on the substrates. The Ag- decorated silica nanospheres were applied as SERS substrates using Rhodamine 6G (R6G) as probe molecule. From Raman analysis, the highest SERS enhancement factor at R6G concentration of 102 was calculated around ~1010.