Surface enhanced fluorescence and Raman scattering by gold nanoparticle dimers and trimers

Dimers and trimers of gold nanoparticles were synthesized using wet chemistry method for surface enhanced fluorescence and Raman scattering. The dimers and trimers provide hot spots for enhancing the fluorescence and Raman signals, and significantly obvious enhancement is obtained from Raman signals in solution. Using finite element method, we calculate the enhancement of fluorescence and Raman signals in the experimental system. Both experimental and theoretical results show that the dimers and trimers solution can be used in micro-quantitative detection from fluorescence and Raman signals. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4776227]