Preparation of Graphene/Gold Nano-Hybrid Using Diamine Linker as Effective Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Platforms

Development of simple and efficient method for the large-scale production of gaphene/metal nanoparticle hybrids is highly desirable for practical applications, such as catalyst, energy generation and storage, optoelectronics, and sensors. Here, we present a facile approach for the preparation of graphene/gold nanoparticle (AuNP) hybrids by simply mixing the functionalized graphene oxide and AuNPs in aqueous media. Among various functionalized graphene sheets, amine-functionalized graphene oxide (GO-NH₂) is used as the hybrid platform due to its synthetic convenience, good dispersity, scalable production with low cost, and positive charge on the surfacce, which could immobilize the AuNPs on the graphene sheets via electrostatic interaction. The synthesized graphene/AgNP hybrids show high surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensitivity due to the combined effects of the high contents of amine functional groups on the GO-NH₂ surface to adsorb more AgNPs and the electromagnetic enhancement of AgNPs.