Conversion of AgCI nanocubes to Ag/AgCI nanohybrids via solid-liquid reaction for surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection

In this reported work, Ag/AgCl nanohybrids were synthesised through a facile solid-liquid reaction approach by reducing pre-grown AgCl nanocubes with a sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) ethanol solution. The morphology of the AgCl nanocubes´ precursor is kept very well after the reactions. The influence of the NaBH₄ concentration and the injection speed of NaBH₄ solution were studied. It is demonstrated that the prepared Ag/AgCl nanohybrids can serve as effective surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) as the typical SERS analyte was applied to determine the effect of the Ag/AgCl substrate, and SERS signals of R6G were observed in a low concentration of 1 × 10^-12 M. Furthermore, the Ag/AgCl substrate was applied to detect other analytes such as crystal violet and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid, which also show high sensitivity.