Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) heterojunctions were synthesized directly on SiO2/Si substrates via a seed-assisted growth process. The in situ chemical fabrication strategy has been proven to be quite simple and efficient for generating highly active surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates due to synergistic enhanced protocol from rGO and AuNPs. The SERS substrates with AuNPs/rGO heterojunctions have been utilized for trace analysis of mercury(II) ions via thymine-Hg(2+)-thymine coordination. Thereby, very low limits of detection, i.e., 0.1 nM or 20 ppt for Hg(2+), can be achieved in contrast with some other SERS subsrtates, which suggests that the heterojunctions are appropriate as versatile surface-enhanced substrates applied in chemical sensing or biosensing.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.