Facile preparation of SERS-active nanogap-rich Au nanoleaves.

To simply reduce HAuCl(4) using 2-thiophenemethanol in an aqueous solution at room temperature, a novel metallic Au nanostructure with a high SERS activity was obtained. Flat sheet-like Au nanoleaves possessing many nanogap hotspots bound with a large percentage of high-index facets were obtained.