Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption of o-Nitroaniline on Nickel Nanoparticles Synthesized by Electrochemical Deposition

Abstract

Nickel nanoparticles were electrochemically deposited on indium-tin oxide (ITO) coated glass plate in a modified Watt’s electrolyte. The surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) effect of the nanoparticles was evaluated by attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) using o-nitroaniline as a probe molecule. Electrodeposition parameters such as deposition time, pH value, and the type of surfactants were investigated. The morphology and the microstructure of the deposits were characterized by the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM), respectively. The results indicate that the optimum parameters were potential of 1.3 V, time of 30 s, and pH of 8.92 in the solution of 0.3756 mol/L diethanolamine, 0.1 mol/L nickel sulfate, 0.01 mol/L nickel chloride, and 0.05 mol/L boric acid. The FESEM observation shows that the morphology of nickel nanoparticles with best enhancement effect is spherical and narrowly distributed particles with the average size of 50 nm. SEIRA enhancement factor is about 68.