High-fidelity replica molding for large-area PMMA 3D nanostructures with high performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering and hydrophobicity

Nanogaps or sharp protrusions has been proved useful for surface enhanced Raman scatting (SERS) in single-molecule sensing and a low cost method for fabricating SERS active substrate with these naonstructures is very important for practical applications of SERS in clinical or biological area. In this work, PMMA 3D nanostructures with sub-20nm ordered nanogap network and sharp tips are fabricated by high-fidelity replica molding. The morphology, water repellency property and Raman enhancement effect of the 3D nanostructures are characterized by SEM, water contact angle and SERS. The results show that the 3D nanostructure of rocket-like array has higher SERS enhancement factor (EF) than the 3D nanostructure of nano-lawn due to the ordered nanogaps, and both of them change the surface wettability of PMMA from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, especially for the 3D structure of nano-lawn.