Conversion of AgCl nanocubes to Ag/AgCl nanohybrids via solid–liquid reaction for surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection

In this reported work, Ag/AgCl nanohybrids were synthesised through a facile solid–liquid reaction approach by reducing pre-grown AgCl nanocubes with a sodium borohydride (NaBH4) ethanol solution. The morphology of the AgCl nanocubes' precursor is kept very well after the reactions. The influence of the NaBH4 concentration and the injection speed of NaBH4 solution were studied. It is demonstrated that the prepared Ag/AgCl nanohybrids can serve as effective surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) as the typical SERS analyte was applied to determine the effect of the Ag/AgCl substrate, and SERS signals of R6G were observed in a low concentration of 1 × 10−12 M. Furthermore, the Ag/AgCl substrate was applied to detect other analytes such as crystal violet and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid, which also show high sensitivity.