Effect of electrodeposition cycles on the performance of gold nanostructures as SERS-active substrates

Au nanostructures electrodeposited on amine-terminated indium tin oxide (ITO) glass as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. The number of electrodeposition cycles (one cycle consists of a nucleation potential of 0.7 V for 2 s and a growth potential of-0.3 V for 1000 s) were optimized. Among as-prepared substrates (1-10 cycles), Au nanostructures formed by three cycles yielded the highest Raman signals of probe molecules, owing to their rough surface morphology with multiple inter space nanogaps. The Au nanostructure exhibited the very low detection limits of 10(-10) M for crystal violet and 10(-9) M for dopamine, as an ultrasensitive SERS substrate. (C) 2017 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.