In Situ Growth of Noble-Metal Nanoparticles on Cu2O Nanocubes for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection.

Gold and silver nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution were grown in situ on the surfaces of Cu2O nanocubes through a wet-chemical reduction route. The Cu2O nanocubes serve as both the substrate and reducing agent. The as-prepared Cu2OAu and Cu2OAg nanocomposites still retain the cubic morphology of the original Cu2O nanocubes. The Cu2OAu and Cu2OAg nanocomposites can serve as effective surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. Rhodamine 6G as a Raman probe was applied to determine the effects of the SERS substrates; the results show that Cu2OAg nanocomposites have higher sensitivity and good reproducibility. Furthermore, the Cu2OAg substrate was also applied to detect plasticizers, such as dimethyl phthalate and dibutyl phthalate, and shows potential applications in the area of food safety screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]