Ag nanoparticle decorated graphene oxide: Fluorescence quenching and surface enhanced raman scattering

The emission and Raman scattering properties of three dyes, Rhodamine 6G (R6G), Rhodamine B (RhB) and Sulforhodamine 101 (SR101), were characterised on graphene oxide (GO) and Ag nanoparticle (NP) decorated graphene oxide (AgGO) substrates to examine the impact of fluorescence quenching on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection. Strong correlation is found between the time-resolved fluorescence data and the Raman scattering peak signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). The fluorescence quenching efficiency on GO is largest for R6G, while the fluorescence lifetime of SR101 is most strongly affected by the addition of the Ag NPs. R6G and SR101 demonstrate higher coupling efficiencies to the AgGO composite compared to RhB. The AgGO substrate yields significant improvements in the Raman scattering SNRs for all three dyes, which are again greatest for R6G and SR101.