Computational study of the SERS response of Ag NPs synthesized by light assisted nanofabrication

GUERRERO VANEGAS, MARÍA ALEJANDRA; MUÑETÓN ARBOLEDA, DAVID; SANTILLÁN, JESICA MARÍA JOSÉ; SCHINCA, DANIEL CARLOS

Congreso; Photonics Online Meetup (POM); 2023

The physical and chemical properties of metallic nanomaterials are of great interest in the developmentof applications in various fields of science and technology [1-3]. Particularly, the use of plasmonicnanostructures in Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) is highly promising for applicationsin analytical chemistry, nanomedicine, and biosensing [4].Regarding the production of nanostructures, the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) by ultrashortpulse laser ablation in solution is an alternative to traditional chemical synthesis methods. While thesemethods provide good control over structural parameters, they have the disadvantage of leavingchemical residues that can contaminate and hinder certain applications. For this work, we are interestedin the synthesis of Ag NPs due to their biocompatibility characteristics and their potential use inbiosensors [5-7].In this study, results of Ag NPs synthesized by femtosecond laser ablation using two different pulseenergies are presented [8]. Their size, composition, and spectral characteristics were determinedthrough UV-VIS spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and TEM microscopy. As the perspective is to useAg NPs in analyte detection applications with low optical response, the computational study of SERSenhancement is presented. For the numerical calculations, nanoparticle aggregates were simulated withthe same distribution shown in the TEM images, and calculations were performed using the DiscreteDipole Approximation (DDA) implemented in the DDSCAT software.