Localized surface plasmon resonance and surface enhanced Raman scattering responses of Au@Ag core-shell nanorods with different thickness of Ag shell.

The properties of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of the core-shell bimetallic nanostructures, that is the monodisperse Au@Ag core-shell nanorods with different thickness of Ag shell, are theoretically and experimental researched. The UV-vis-NIR absorption spectra of the Au@Ag core-shell nanorods are measured and displayed their blue-shifts of the longitudinal plasmon resonance peaks with increasing of Ag concentrations in the colloidal solution. And the absorption spectra of the Au@Ag core-shell nanorods are simulated by the Finite Element Method (FEM), which are in agreement with the experimental measurements and reveal their LSPR mechanism as the varying structures. In addition, Rhodamine 6G, as a Raman reporter molecule, is used to investigate SERS of gold nanorods and Au@Ag core-shell nanorods. It is found that Au@Ag core-shell nanorods have better SERS responses, comparing with those of Au nanorods, and their SERS intensities are increased with the increases of the Ag shell thickness, which demonstrate that the chemisorptive bond effect and the morphology of the nanoparticle play key roles to the SERS signals. It is significant to design the biosensor based on the properties of Au@Ag core-shell nanorods.