Tip-enhanced Raman imaging of plasmon-driven dimerization of 4-bromothiophenol on nickel-decorated gold nanoplate bimetallic nanostructures

Abstract

We used tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) to examine plasmon-driven dimerization of 4-bromothiophenol (4-BTP) into thiophenol (TP) and 4,4′-biphenyldithiol (4,4′-BPDT) on Au and Ni@AuNPs. TERS revealed that cross-coupling of these molecular reactants into 4,4′-BPDT occurred primarily on Ni nano islands rather than the surrounding Au on the surface of Ni@AuNPs.