Rapid synthesis of hierarchical, flower-like Ag microstructures with a gemini surfactant as a directing agent for SERS applications

Abstract

A simple and repeatable method to synthesize uniform-size, shape-specific nanomaterials is essential for fundamental studies and practical applications. In this article, novel and highly monodispersed hierarchical, flower-like Ag microstructures (HFAMs) were fabricated in only a few seconds via a one-step reduction process at ambient temperature. A gemini surfactant, dodecanediyl-1,12-bis(dimethylhexadecylammonium bromide) (16-12-16), was used as the directing agent instead of conventional stabilizers and showed excellent shaping abilities. Meanwhile, a series of hierarchical, monodispersed Ag microstructures with great potential application value were obtained by adjusting the concentrations of various reagents. Additionally, the formation mechanism of the HFAMs was proposed. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements showed that the HFAMs can serve as extremely sensitive SERS substrates. This work further investigated the applications of these monodispersed microstructures and the importance of Gemini surfactants in controlling the micro–nanomaterial shape.