In Situ Growth of Noble-Metal Nanoparticles on Cu2O Nanocubes for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection

Gold and silver nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution were grown insitu on the surfaces of Cu2O nanocubes through a wet-chemical reduction route. The Cu2O nanocubes serve as both the substrate and reducing agent. The as-prepared Cu2OAu and Cu2OAg nanocomposites still retain the cubic morphology of the original Cu2O nanocubes. The Cu2OAu and Cu2OAg nanocomposites can serve as effective surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. Rhodamine6G as a Raman probe was applied to determine the effects of the SERS substrates; the results show that Cu2OAg nanocomposites have higher sensitivity and good reproducibility. Furthermore, the Cu2OAg substrate was also applied to detect plasticizers, such as dimethyl phthalate and dibutyl phthalate, and shows potential applications in the area of food safety screening.