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Structural and Optical Tunability of Ag-ZnO Nanocomposite Thin Films For Surface-Enhanced Raman Studies

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Abstract

The Ag-ZnO nanocomposite thin films of varying Ag contents were synthesized successfully using simultaneous RF- and DC-magnetron sputterings on quartz substrates. The as-prepared nanocomposites were then annealed in a mixture of hydrogen plus argon environment (95%Ar+5%H2) at a temperature of 300 °C. The pristine and annealed films were then subjected to synchrotron XRD to study for any possible structural modifications induced in the films. The crystalline behavior of the hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO, in the pristine and annealed samples of Ag-ZnO nanocomposites, was evident in samples prepared at low Ag content, but with increasing Ag content, the crystalline behavior of the hexagonal wurtzite structure was suppressed. FESEM utilized to study the formation of nanoparticles in the films revealed the non-uniform distribution and agglomeration of nanoparticles increases as the Ag content increases. A broad surface plasmon region in the range of 380–450 nm was observed for different compositions with remarkable blue and red shifts using UV-visible spectroscopy. These high-quality Ag-ZnO nanocomposite thin films with tunable optical properties were then used as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates for the detection of rhodamine B (RhB) at low concentrations of 10−6 M. The detection of RhB in trace amounts is important in the current scenario as wastewater discharge is a serious threat to our ecosystem.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Amit Kumar Chawla and Akula Umamaheswara Rao at C.I.C UPES for their time and assistance during the Ag-ZnO deposition. One of the authors, AM, wishes to thank CSIR, New Delhi, for providing fellowship. The authors extend their thanks to the Institute of Eminence, IoE 2021-22, project no. IOE/2021/12/FRP, University of Delhi, the University Science Instrumentation Center (USIC), University of Delhi, for the FESEM facility and the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, NSSRC, Hsinchu, Taiwan, for the synchrotron XRD facility.

Funding

The TEEP Asia Plus program and Taiwan’s MoST project grant 110-2112-M-032-013-MY3 are acknowledged by the authors for the financial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India

    Akanksha Motla & S. Annapoorni

  2. Department of Physics, Tamkang University, Tamsui, 251301, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Thanigai Arul Kumaravelu & Chung-Li Dong

  3. Department of Physics & Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248007, India

    Asokan Kandasami & Devesh Kumar Avasthi

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  1. Akanksha Motla
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  2. Thanigai Arul Kumaravelu
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  3. Chung-Li Dong
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  4. Asokan Kandasami
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  5. Devesh Kumar Avasthi
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  6. S. Annapoorni
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Contributions

Akanksha Motla, Devesh Kumar Avasthi, and S. Annapoorni participated in the study’s conception and design. Akanksha Motla conducted the material preparation. Data collection was carried out by Akanksha Motla and Thanigai Arul. Analysis was performed by Akanksha Motla, K. Asokan, Chung-Li Dong, S. Annapoorni, and Devesh Kumar Avasthi. Akanksha Motla wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. S. Annapoorni and all authors provided feedback on earlier versions. The final manuscript was reviewed and approved by all authors.

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Correspondence to Devesh Kumar Avasthi or S. Annapoorni.

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Motla, A., Kumaravelu, T., Dong, CL. et al. Structural and Optical Tunability of Ag-ZnO Nanocomposite Thin Films For Surface-Enhanced Raman Studies. Plasmonics 19, 335–345 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-023-01965-z

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