Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy chips based on two-dimensional materials beyond graphene

Abstract Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) based on two-dimensional (2D) materials has attracted great attention over the past decade. Compared with metallic materials, which enhance Raman signals via the surface plasmon effect, 2D materials integrated on silicon substrates are ideal for use in the fabrication of plasmon-free SERS chips, with the advantages of outstanding fluorescence quenching capability, excellent biomolecular compatibility, tunable Fermi levels, and potentially low-cost material preparation. Moreover, recent studies have shown that the limits of detection of 2D-material-based SERS may be comparable with those of metallic substrates, which has aroused significant research interest. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the advances in SERS chips based on 2D materials. As several excellent reviews of graphene-enhanced Raman spectroscopy have been published in the past decade, here, we focus only on 2D materials beyond graphene, i.e., transition metal dichalcogenides, black phosphorus, hexagonal boron nitride, 2D titanium carbide or nitride, and their heterostructures. We hope that this paper can serve as a useful reference for researchers specializing in 2D materials, spectroscopy, and diverse applications related to chemical and biological sensing.