Nanoporous Aluminum-Magnesium Alloy for UV enhanced spectroscopy

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel nanoporous Al-Mg alloy film created through selective dissolution, demonstrating its potential for enhanced UV spectroscopy and superior performance compared to gold structures in UV plasmonics.

Contribution

First demonstration of nanoporous Al-Mg alloy films with tunable properties for UV spectroscopy applications.

Findings

Enhanced fluorescence and Raman scattering at specific UV wavelengths

Superior UV performance compared to porous gold structures

Tunable porosity and composition via controlled dealloying

Abstract

We report the first preparation of nanoporous Al-Mg alloy films by selective dissolution of Mg from a Mg-rich AlxMg1-x alloy. We show how to tune the stoichiometry, the porosity and the oxide contents in the final film by modulating the starting ratio between Al and Mg and the dealloying procedure. The obtained porous metal can be exploited for enhanced UV spectroscopy. In this respect, we experimentally demonstrate its efficacy in enhancing fluorescence and surface Raman scattering for excitation wavelengths of 360 nm and 257 nm respectively. Finally, we numerically show the superior performance of the nanoporous Al-Mg alloy in the UV range when compared to equivalent porous gold structures. The large area to surface ratio provided by this material make it a promising platform for a wide range of applications in UV/deep-UV plasmonics.