One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of silver nanoplates on optical fiber tip for surface-enhanced Raman scattering

We report on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) fiber probe based on silver nanoplates which are fabricated on the tapered tip of the multimode fiber, by a simple, effective and low-cost hydrothermal method. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy and the transmission electron microscopy show that the obtained fiber probe is composed of nanoplates with the thickness of about 40 nm and an average length of 300 nm. The SERS activity of the tapered fiber probe with an optimal cone angle has demonstrated excellent results using the probing molecule of 4-aminothiophenol. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.