Issue 3, 2017

SERS-enhanced piezoplasmonic graphene composite for biological and structural strain mapping

Abstract

Thin-film optical strain sensors have the ability to map small deformations with spatial and temporal resolution and do not require electrical interrogation. This paper describes the use of graphene decorated with metallic nanoislands for sensing of tensile deformations of less than 0.04% with a resolution of less than 0.002%. The nanoisland-graphene composite films contain gaps between the nanoislands, which when functionalized with benzenethiolate behave as hot spots for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Mechanical strain increases the sizes of the gaps; this increase attenuates the electric field, and thus attenuates the SERS signal. This compounded, SERS-enhanced “piezoplasmonic” effect can be quantified using a plasmonic gauge factor, and is among the most sensitive mechanical sensors of any type. Since the graphene-nanoisland films are both conductive and optically active, they permit simultaneous electrical stimulation of myoblast cells and optical detection of the strains produced by the cellular contractions.

Graphical abstract: SERS-enhanced piezoplasmonic graphene composite for biological and structural strain mapping

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Nov 2016
Accepted
21 Dec 2016
First published
22 Dec 2016
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale, 2017,9, 1292-1298

SERS-enhanced piezoplasmonic graphene composite for biological and structural strain mapping

B. C. Marin, J. Liu, E. Aklile, A. D. Urbina, A. S.-C. Chiang, N. Lawrence, S. Chen and D. J. Lipomi, Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 1292 DOI: 10.1039/C6NR09005B

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