Graphene-assisted preparation of large-scale single crystal Ag(111) nanoparticle arrays

TL;DR

This paper introduces a graphene-assisted ion implantation method to create large-scale, single-crystal Ag(111) nanoparticle arrays with enhanced surface plasmon resonance, useful for sensing and photocatalysis.

Contribution

It presents a novel graphene-based barrier layer technique for fabricating well-ordered Ag(111) nanoparticle arrays with improved stability and optical properties.

Findings

Ag nanoparticles exhibit uniform (111) crystal orientation

Graphene prevents oxidation of Ag nanoparticles

Raman G peak enhancement by about 20 times

Abstract

Surface plasmon resonance of metal nanostructures has broad application prospects in the fields of photocatalysis, optical sensing, biomarkers and surface-enhanced Raman scattering. This paper reports a graphene-assisted method for preparing large-scale single crystal Ag(111) nanoparticle arrays based on ion implantation technique. By surface periodic treatment and annealing of the implanted sample, regularly arranged Ag nanoparticles can be prepared on the sample surface. A new application for graphene is proposed, that is, as a perfect barrier layer to prevent metal atoms from evaporating or diffusing. All the Ag NPs show (111) crystal orientation. Besides, the Ag atoms are covered by graphene immediately when they precipitate from the substrate, which can prevent them from being oxidized. On the basis of this structure, as one of the applications of metal SPR, we measured the Raman enhancement effect, and found that the G peak of the Raman spectrum of graphene achieved about 20 times enhancement.