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. 2025 May 14;25(19):7785-7792.
doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00763. Epub 2025 May 6.

Linker-Free Synthesis of Core/Satellite Nanoparticles for Single-Particle Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Photocatalysis

Sanjun Fan  1 , Brian T Scarpitti  1 , Abigail E Smith  1 , Zhewen Luo  2 , Jian Ye  2 , Zachary D Schultz  1
Affiliations

Linker-Free Synthesis of Core/Satellite Nanoparticles for Single-Particle Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Photocatalysis

Sanjun Fan et al. Nano Lett. .

Abstract

A facile and novel method to synthesize core/satellite (CS) nanoparticles via a linker-free method is reported. Au spheres on the tips of nanostars can gradually grow bigger and eventually transform into gap-enhanced Raman tags (GERTs) to form stable and ultrabright Au nanostar/GERTs CS nanoparticles. Au nanostar/Ag sphere CS nanoparticles can also be prepared via the growth of Ag spheres on the tips, which provides a direct route to new porous Au nanostar/Ag-Au, Ag-Pt, or Ag-Pd sphere CS nanoparticles through galvanic replacement of Ag. In situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy monitoring on CS nanoparticles with different noble metals demonstrates single-particle photocatalysis; among them, the hybrid Ag-Pt CS nanoparticles show the fastest photocatalytic rates for the complete conversion of 4-nitrothiophenol (4-NTP) to 4,4-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) at the single-particle level. This method provides a direct synthetic route to these complex nanoparticles without interference from external linker molecules and opens up new possibilities in single-particle analysis.

Keywords: GERTs; SERS; core/satellite nanoparticle; linker-free method; single-particle photocatalysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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