Voltage-tunable surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates based on electroactive polymeric membranes containing plasmonic nanoparticles

Abstract

We describe voltage-controlled surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates in which the SERS-signals can be actively modulated by applying voltage. These SERS-substrates employ a dielectric electroactive polymer (D-EAP) membrane with a pair of electrically-actuated active regions. When these regions are simultaneously activated, they produce an in-plane contractile strain in the regions of the D-EAP where SERS dye-coated nanoparticles are placed. We demonstrate that SERS-signals from dye-coated silver nanoparticles, deposited on the D-EAP membrane, increases by ∼100% upon application of an actuating voltage. Upon removal of the voltage, actuated active-areas move towards their original positions, leading to a decrease in the SERS-signals.