Breaking the intrinsic activity barriers of bilayer metal oxides for catalytic CO reduction.

The photocatalytic CO reduction reaction is severely limited by sluggish charge kinetics. To address this issue, a strategy utilizing non-metal-doped layered double hydroxide (LDH) has been developed to control the electronic structure of spindle-shaped nanoflowers, resulting in efficient photocatalytic CO reduction. The results demonstrate that the designed catalyst yields 263.

Cation polymer-induced aggregation of water-soluble Au(I)-thiolate complexes and their photoluminescence properties.

Au(I)-thiolate complexes are a new class of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) material. Here we demonstrate a new aggregation strategy of water-soluble Au(I)-thiolate complexes induced by cationic polymers at optimized pH values. The generated AIE shows longer wavelengths than the emission induced by other methods.

Simultaneous Extraction and Self-Assembly of Plasmonic Colloidal Gold Superparticles for SERS Detection of Organochlorine Pesticides in Water.

Rapid component separation and reliable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection of organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues in real water samples remain major challenges because of sample complexity, trace content, and low molecular affinity for a metal surface. Here, we report a novel strategy of simultaneous extraction and fabrication of plasmonic colloidal gold superparticles (AuSPs) to perform rapid SERS detection of OCPs in environmental water. In this protocol, multiple components of OCPs in complex water were facilely diffused into dichloromethane (DCM) microdroplets and specifically bound to octadecylamine-modified gold nanoparticles (Au-ODAs), affording the SERS substrate through self-assembly of the OCP-trapped Au-ODA into AuSPs with the evaporation of DCM.

"Pomegranate-Like" Plasmonic Nanoreactors with Accessible High-Density Hotspots for in Situ SERS Monitoring of Catalytic Reactions.

Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) have enabled surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for in situ monitoring of NPs-catalyzed reactions. However, it still remains a great challenge to ensure that analytes without plasmonic metal surface-affinity groups (such as thiol and amino groups) can be located into hotspots and detected by SERS. Here, we report a novel sacrificial template method for the fabrication of "pomegranate-like" plasmonic nanoreactors (PPNs), in which high-density embedded AuNPs simultaneously generated SERS enhancement and catalytic performance.

In situ synthesis of gold nanoparticles on pseudo-paper films as flexible SERS substrate for sensitive detection of surface organic residues.

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates that can be attached to rough, irregular surfaces and directly collect samples is especially useful for the detection of surface organic residues. Herein, novel AuNPs-pseudo-paper films (APPFs) with uniform structure, flexible properties and wicking capabilities were first fabricated and used as SERS substrate for the sensitive detection of surface pesticides residues. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were in situ synthesized on pseudo-paper films (PPFs) by iterative seeding method to create lots of "hot-spots", accordingly exhibiting high SERS activity (SERS enhancement factor of 3.

Simultaneous In Situ Extraction and Fabrication of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrate for Reliable Detection of Thiram Residue.

We report a novel strategy of simultaneous in situ extraction and fabrication of surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrate (IE-SERS) to perform selective and reliable on-site determination of thiram residue in soil, fruits, and vegetables. In this protocol, the thiram residue on complex surfaces can facilely diffuse into the solvent (dichloromethane (DCM)) and specifically bind to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), affording the SERS substrate through the embedding of the thiram-trapped AuNPs into the cellulose p-toluenesulfonates (CTSAs) film through the evaporation of DCM. SERS signals of the specifically prepared CTSAs could be used as an internal standard to calibrate the absolute signal of thiram, which can avoid the fluctuation of SERS intensities caused by uneven and irregular morphology of SERS substrate.