facile synthesis of tunable nanostructured plasmonic templates by electroless deposition

In this work, we have developed plasmonic ag nanoparticles supported on si substrates via a simple electroless deposition process eliminating the need of vacuum technology. the near- and far-field plasmonic performance of the produced nanoparticles were evaluated by surface-enhanced raman scattering (using rhodamine 6g as test molecule) and specular spectral reflectivity measurements, respectively. the factors influencing the development of nanoparticles, such as the type (p- or n-) and the orientation ({100} or {111}) of the substrate, the deposition time, and the solution’s concentration, were studied thoroughly by optical measurements, x-ray diffraction, auger electron spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. the deposition time, as well as the concentration, affected significantly the development and the growth rate of the particles making this technique an easy and inexpensive method for the development of tunable plasmonic nanoparticles. the produced plasmonic templates had improved signal-to-noise ratio by an order of magnitude for r6g compared to sputter-deposited ag nanoparticles.