Triboelectrically boosted SERS on sea-urchin-like gold clusters facilitated by a high dielectric substrate

By designing a triboelectrically active and dielectric composite substrate, we introduce a new approach to obtain the electric-field boosted surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy detection (E-SERS), which strengthens SERS signals of conventional noble metal nanoparticle-based platforms by 3-fold. The substrate is composed of Au–Ag binary metal nanostructures deposited on a composite dielectric polymeric film. The triboelectricity is easily generated by simply rubbing the SERS substrate using a piece of copper foil. The electricity then enhances the hotspot intensities in the noble metal structures, and boosts SERS signals obtained therein. Using these substrates, facile detections of various molecules even in corrosive (oxidizing) solutions are achieved with enhanced sensitivities and high reproducibility. This rational design for E-SERS relatively simplifies the conventional setup requirements and the operational complexity of conventional E-SERS detections. We expect our triboelectrically-enabled E-SERS concept can promote practical on-site E-SERS detections.