Highly sensitive and stable porous TiN nanosheet-based SERS substrate

A porous titanium nitride (TiN) nanosheet-based substrate was fabricated using a facile hydrothermal method followed by nitridation. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance of the substrate was also investigated. The results showed that it possessed abundant nanoscale pores, which effectively enhanced the Raman signal intensity and sensitivity. Compared to conventional SERS substrates, the porous TiN nanosheet-based SERS substrate exhibited excellent enhancement effects for a minimum detectable concentration of 10−12 M. More importantly, the TiN nanosheets showed an unexpected ultrahigh stability to withstand laser irradiation, and toward corrosion by strong acids and alkalis as well as high-temperature oxidation (at 400 °C) in air. Moreover, the porous TiN nanosheets-based SERS substrate was used to detect multi-component mixtures. These findings indicated it potential applications in the field of molecular detection and biosensors.