Textured graphene synthesis by pulsed laser ablation for surface-enhanced Raman scattering

Full text: We report a processing route to produce large scale textured few-layer (fl) graphene at low temperature based on the catalytic conversion of thin Diamond-Like Carbon films grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition, and highlight its potential applications as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) platform. The formation of fl-graphene film was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, and surface morphology was inspected by scanning electron microscopy. We have shown that the diffusion of Ni atoms through a Si substrate and the concomitant formation of nickel silicides compounds offer a good template to design simply the surface properties of graphene with nanoscale roughness. The textured fl-graphene films decorated with gold nanoparticles are introduced as new hybrids materials that can be used as highly efficient SERS devices to detect various molecules. The detection at very low concentration aminothiophenol and methyl parathion, which are active molecules of commercial insecticides, was further demonstrated. This robust device, without any need of graphene transfer, presents a stable detection for up to one year under ambient conditions. (author)