Flexible and Transparent Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)-Active Metafilm for Visualizing Trace Molecules via Raman Spectral Mapping

Raman spectral mapping is a powerful tool for directly visualizing the composition, structure, and distribution of molecules on any surface of interest. However, one major limitation of Raman mapping is its overlong imaging time caused by the intrinsic weak Raman signal. Here, we developed a fast Raman imaging approach based on a flexible and transparent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active metafilm. This particular SERS substrate can be conformably attached to a sample surface to enhance the Raman signal of analytes and the good optical transparency allow excitation and collection of signal from the backside of the substrate. Therefore, by simply attaching it to the surface of interest, a fast Raman imaging can be realized. We noticed that the imaging speed can be increased by several orders of magnitude, compared to a conventional Raman mapping approach. Importantly, the proposed approach required little or no sample preparation and exhibited good generalizability that can be performed perfectly on different surfaces. It is believed that the proposed methodology will provide new trends for chemical imaging using Raman microscopy.