SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN SCATTERING OF AU COATED HEMISPHERIC DIAMOND NANO-THORN

In this work, we report a novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate based on nanostructured diamond. Hemispheric nanocrystalline diamond grown by MPCVD was annealed in air to achieve hemispheric NCD with nano-thorn-like porous structure (HSDNT). Subsequently, thin Au film was coated onto the HSDNT surface by evaporation. The large specific surface area and “lightning rod” effect provided by HSDNT greatly improved the SERS effect. Detection limit low to 10
⁻¹²
M and even 10
⁻¹⁴
M after ultrasonic process was obtained experimentally on Au-HSDNT for the first time.