Nanotechnology 2017 Jun;28(24):245602
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nanomedicine, CAS Key Laboratory of Health Informatics, Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, 518055, People's Republic of China. Soft Condensed Mater, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht, Netherlands.
Being able to precisely control the morphologies of noble metallic nanostructures is of essential significance for promoting the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. Herein, we demonstrate an overgrowth strategy for synthesizing Au @ M (M = Au, Ag, Pd, Pt) core-shell heterogeneous nanocrystals with an orientated structural evolution and highly improved properties by using Au nanorods as seeds. With the same reaction condition system applied, we obtain four well-designed heterostructures with diverse shapes, including Au concave nanocuboids (Au CNs), Au @ Ag crystalizing face central cube nanopeanuts, Au @ Pd porous nanocuboids and Au @ Pt nanotrepangs. Subsequently, the exact overgrowth mechanism of the above heterostructural building blocks is further analysed via the systematic optimiziation of a series of fabrications. Remarkably, the well-defined Au CNs and Au @ Ag nanopeanuts both exhibit highly promoted SERS activity. We expect to be able to supply a facile strategy for the fabrication of multimetallic heterogeneous nanostructures, exploring the high SERS effect and catalytic activities.