Fabrication of flexible composite of laser reduced graphene@Ag dendrites as active material for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Published in: Materials letters Vol. 277; p. 128380
• Main Authors: Aparicio-Martínez, Eider, Estrada-Moreno, Iván A., Dominguez, Rocio B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.10.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Composite; Electrodeposition; Flexible; Graphene; Laser reduced graphene; Lasers; Materials science; Raman spectroscopy; SERS; Silver; Silver nanodendrites; Substrates; Laser reduced graphene; Flexible; Composite; SERS; Silver nanodendrites
• ISSN: 0167-577X; 1873-4979
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2020.128380

•Fabrication of active SERS composites based on laser reduced graphene as template.•Electrodeposited dendritic structures over flexible graphene structure.•Detection of R6G probe at nanomolar concentrations. The current trends in flexible devices has drawn considerable attention to the creation of bendable SERS substrates. In this work, we present a flexible SERS substrate developed from laser scribed graphene (LSG) and silver dendrites (AgD), combining the inherent chemical enhancement of graphene and the electromagnetic amplification of magnetic nanostructures within one platform. The laser irradiation allowed the controlled reduction of graphene oxide to create a conductive, lightweight and flexible template for growing of AgD by electrodeposition. The LSG@AgD composites were optimized varying electrodeposition cycles, which drastically affected the performance. The optimal synergistic effects of both materials were achieved after 30 cycles, allowing a fast measurement of R6G probe down to nanomolar levels and preserving the detection even after continuous bending.