Layered core-shell bimetallic silver-gold nanoparticles were prepared by coating Au layers over Ag seedsby a seed-growth method. The composition of Ag100-xAux particles can vary from x) 0 to 30. TEM andSEM images clearly show that the bimetallic nanoparticles are of core-shell structure with some pinholes onthe surface. Strong surface-enhanced Raman (SER) signals of thiophenol and p-aminothiophenol have beenobtained with these colloids. It was found that the SERS activity of aggregated colloids critically depends onthe molar ratio of Ag to Au. With the increase of the Au molar fraction, the SERS activity enhances first andthen weakens, with the maximal intensity being 10 times stronger than that of Ag colloids. The AgcoreAushellnanoparticles were then labeled with monoclonal antibodies and SERS probes and used for immunoassayanalysis. In the proposed system, antibodies immobilized on a solid substrate can interact with the correspondingantigens to form a composite substrate, which can capture reporter-labeled AgcoreAushell nanoparticles modifiedwith the same antibodies. The immunoreaction between the antibodies and antigens was demonstrated by thedetection of characteristic Raman bands of the probe molecules. AgcoreAushell bimetallic nanoparticles, as anew SERS active and biocompatible substrate, will be expected to improve the detection sensitivity ofimmunoassay.

A method to produce a substrate suitable for surface-enhanced Raman study on the pure massive Rh electrodewas developed. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active Rh electrode with good stability,reversibility, and ease of preparation can be obtained by the control-current electrochemical roughening method.The surface enhancement factor was estimated to be 3 orders of magnitude. Such kind of enhancement allowsthe investigation of not only some molecules of large Raman cross-section (e.g., pyridine) but also othermolecules of very small Raman cross-section (like CO). This result shows that the Rh surface can be used asa useful substrate for the combined electrochemical and Raman study of some systems that are both offundamental and application interest.

We describe a method of preparing gold scanning tunneling microscopy STM tips by direct currentelectrochemical etching in concentrated HCl and ethanol solution. Gold tips with tip apex radiuslower than 30nm can be reproducibly prepared by this method. The influence of the solutioncomposition, etching voltage on the surface structure, and sharpness has been investigated. Thesetips can be efficiently used for STM imaging, tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and light emissioninvestigations on the same sample.

A detailed surface Raman study of the effect of the bulk concentration of cyanide (CN-), electrode potential.and immersion potential on the adsorption behavior of CN- on the Pt electrode surface was performed on aconfocal microprobe Raman system. The notable change of the C-N frequency and the Pt-C intensity at ca.-0.7 V(vs SCE) indicates a subtle change of the adsorption behavior of CN- on the platinum electrode insolutions with concentration of about 10-4M or lower. The concentration of cyanide in the bulk solutionaffects the adsorption behavior. The surface Raman signal can still be observed at concentrations as low as10-6M. When the CN-concentration is higher than 10-3M, the potential for immersing the platinum electrodein the CN-solution has a remarkable effect on the adsorption behavior of CN-With the high-quality surfaceRaman spectra, the surface enhancement factor for the adsorbed CN- was estimated to be about 150.

A Raman cell suitable for the study of solid/liquid/gas three-phase systems and that can work very efficiently onconfocal microprobe Raman systems was introduced. The influence of the environment on the adsorption behavior ofmodel molecule CO on Pt was investigated and different behaviors were observed in the aqueous solution compared tothe gas phase. A preliminary Raman measurement on the three-phase system was performed using methanol as a testingsolution. The diffusion of CO, a dissociate product of methanol, on the Pt electrode from the solution side to the gasside was observed.