Authors: Donald A. Perry, Reece L. Borchers, Jon W. Golden, Aaron R. Owen, Adam S. Brice, William A. Henry, Fumiya Watanabe, and Alexandru S. Biris
Publication: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Vol. 4, No. 21
Abstract:
There is a need for increasing the number of transition metals that can be used as substrates for surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA). We present here microscopy and infrared experiments that show oblique-angle deposition of Ni onto CaF2 or BaF2, which result in elongated Ni nanostructures (ENiNSs) that are partially aggregated and exhibit surface plasmon resonances in the mid-infrared. SEIRA enhancement factors in the range of 10–20-fold were observed for a monolayer of the p-nitrobenzoate ion adsorbed onto the ENiNS. Extending SEIRA to a metal such as Ni would yield different ways of studying Ni thin film and catalysis chemistry. This work also suggests that oblique-angle deposition might be used to create new SEIRA substrates from other metals.