Highly reproducible, large scale inkjet-printed Ag nanoparticles-ink SERS substrate

Abstract

We report the fabrication of a low-cost, and highly reproducible large scale surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate using an inkjet-printed Ag nanoparticle-ink (AgNI). The AgNI SERS substrates were evaluated for SERS using trans-1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (BPY) as a molecular probe. AgNI substrates significantly enhanced the SERS signals with the limit of detection of 1.8 ​× ​10⁻⁷ g/mL for BPY. The printed AgNI dot arrays exhibit an excellent SERS performance and reproducibility. The batch-to-batch and spot-to-spot standard deviation value of less than 10% was obtained. The results reveal the reproducibility of the AgNI SERS dot arrays and its potential application for SERS substrates.