Preparation of gold-tellurium hybrid nanomaterials for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

We report a simple method for preparing three different SERS-active substrates. Concentrated hydrazine solution as the reducing agent and tellurium dioxide as the precursor were used to prepare Te nanowires (NWs). The as-prepared Te NWs have an average length of 547.7 +/- 111.6 nm and an average width of 15.1 +/- 2.7 nm. Through the reaction of Te NWs with sodium tetrachloroaurate in the presence of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) over reaction times of 10, 20, and 60 min, gold-tellurium nanodumbbells, gold-tellurium nanopeapods, and gold pearl-necklace nanomaterials (Au PNNs) were obtained, respectively. By controlling the reaction time, the distance between adjacent gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in each Te nanowire was tunable, allowing us to investigate its effect on the SERS signals. Having shorter distances among Au NPs (greater electromagnetic fields), the Au PNNs provided a reproducible enhancement factor of 5.6 x 10(9).