Gold nanothorns-macroporous silicon hybrid structure: a simple and ultrasensitive platform for SERS.

We synthesised a novel gold-on-porous silicon hybrid material that exhibits a highly sensitive and reproducible surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) response. The material was fabricated simply by reducing gold chloride with hydrofluoric acid on the surface of macro-porous silicon (macro-PSi). The material consists of thorn-shaped gold nanocrystals with characteristic shapes and sizes on the surface of macro-PSi.