Three-dimensional Hierarchical Structures Of Butterfly Scales With Silver Nano-particles To Optimize The Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)

In recent years, surface enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) had attracted more and more attentions. Because it can achieve detect the low concentrations of analytic. However, the method to manufacture the substrate which had the ability to enhance the SERS activity was not very effective. As the technology improved, many researchers had tried their best to make it come true. In the course of the evolution of nature in ten thousand years, it had formed some subtle three-dimensional(3-D) micro-structures. We just inspired from the butterfly’s scales which had some typical subtle 3-D micro-structures that has the ability to make a response to the light. We had synthesized the silver nano-particles to array on these micro-structures to enhance the SERS activity. We just utilize the two typical kinds of micro-structures which were obtained from the butterfly of the Luminous Morph and Papilio maackii. In order to evaluate the effect of the 3-Dmicro-structures, we just utilized the substrate with silver nano-particles to detect the R6 G with different concentrations. The results demonstrated that the micro-structures of Papilio maackii could detect the concentrations as low as 10-14 mol/L, and the substrate of Luminous Morph could only detect10-11mol/L. In order to identify the structure’s effect on the SERS activity, we also synthesized the two-dimensional plating substrate with silver nano-particles as a reference. The experimental results had demonstrated that the 3-D micro-structures with silver nano-particles is much better than the2-D plating substrate.On the basis of the experiment, we also utilized the finite-different time-domain(FDTD) solutions to calculate the electromagnetic field. Also from the view of the efficiency in using the exciting light we analyzed the reason that the higher enhancement of the electromagnetic field was achieved.Through loading the silver nano-particles on these subtle 3-D micro-structures which have the response to the exciting light, we can dramatically improve the SERS activity. This paper will be a stepping stone to further designing the SERS substrates which have a more efficient activity.