Interfacially Assembled Hollow AuAg Nanostars on Flexible PDMS for Sensitive SERS Detection
- 1Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, , Changchun 130022, China; (J.L.); (M.L.); (J.H.); (C.X.)
- 2Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Physics and Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, , Changchun 130103, China;
Abstract
Optimizing the morphology and structure of noble metal nanomaterials is critical for the design of high-performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates for trace analyte detection. A plasmon-tunable SERS platform consisting of AuAg alloy nanostars anchored on a hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix was developed, which combined the chemical stability of Au and the strong localized surface plasmon resonance of Ag. AuAg alloy nanostars with sharp tips were synthesized via a galvanic replacement reaction, in which the precise modulation of Ag seed concentration enabled a morphological evolution from solid to hollow nanostructures. The optimized AuAg-3 nanostars exhibited the highest SERS response due to a dual synergistic mechanism: strong electromagnetic enhancement at the sharp branched tips and additional plasmonic enhancement from the hollow cavity through light scattering and trapping, which increased the optical path length and excitation efficiency. Furthermore, these nanostars were transferred onto a flexible PDMS film through interfacial self-assembly. The resulting hydrophobic PDMS-AuAg-3 substrate synergistically combined the strong electromagnetic enhancement from the nanostars with efficient analyte enrichment driven by the hydrophobic surface, achieving an ultra-low detection limit of 2.4 × 10−10 M for methylene blue (MB). This strategy effectively balances high sensitivity and excellent reproducibility, offering a robust pathway for the development of next-generation flexible SERS sensors.
Related
- Gold Nanostars as a Novel and Sensitive Indicator of Iodometry for Colorimetric Sensing.
- Flexible Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor Based on an SXFA Sensitive Film for DMMP Detection
- MnO2–Co3O4@RGO hybrid nanocomposite-modified carbon paste electrode for sensitive electrochemical detection of hydrogen peroxide in food and edible-oil matrices
- Laser-Induced Graphene Modified with Gold Nanoparticles for Dengue Biomarker Detection: Toward Portable and Flexible Biosensing Platforms for Early Diagnosis
- Quantum dot biosensors for highly sensitive and multiplex detection in biomedical diagnostics
BibTeX
@article{li2026interfacially,
title = {{Interfacially Assembled Hollow AuAg Nanostars on Flexible PDMS for Sensitive SERS Detection}},
author = {Jiatong Li and Meiyu Liu and Xinyuan Meng and Jiayi Hou and Chaojie Xu and Wenshi Zhao and Jie Zhao},
journal = {Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/molecules31193561},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666804},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Interfacially Assembled Hollow AuAg Nanostars on Flexible PDMS for Sensitive SERS Detection
AU - Jiatong Li
AU - Meiyu Liu
AU - Xinyuan Meng
AU - Jiayi Hou
AU - Chaojie Xu
AU - Wenshi Zhao
AU - Jie Zhao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/molecules31193561
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666804
AB - Optimizing the morphology and structure of noble metal nanomaterials is critical for the design of high-performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates for trace analyte detection. A plasmon-tunable SERS platform consisting of AuAg alloy nanostars anchored on a hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix was developed, which combined the chemical stability of Au and the strong localized surface plasmon resonance of Ag. AuAg alloy nanostars with sharp tips were synthesized via a galvanic replacement reaction, in which the precise modulation of Ag seed concentration enabled a morphological evolution from solid to hollow nanostructures. The optimized AuAg-3 nanostars exhibited the highest SERS response due to a dual synergistic mechanism: strong electromagnetic enhancement at the sharp branched tips and additional plasmonic enhancement from the hollow cavity through light scattering and trapping, which increased the optical path length and excitation efficiency. Furthermore, these nanostars were transferred onto a flexible PDMS film through interfacial self-assembly. The resulting hydrophobic PDMS-AuAg-3 substrate synergistically combined the strong electromagnetic enhancement from the nanostars with efficient analyte enrichment driven by the hydrophobic surface, achieving an ultra-low detection limit of 2.4 × 10−10 M for methylene blue (MB). This strategy effectively balances high sensitivity and excellent reproducibility, offering a robust pathway for the development of next-generation flexible SERS sensors.
SN - 1420-3049
ER -