A CO2-tunable plasmonic nanosensor based on the interfacial assembly of gold nanoparticles on diblock copolymers grafted from gold surfaces

A general stepwise strategy for the fabrication of CO2-tunable plasmonic nanosensors was described for the first time, based on gold surface functionalization by CO2-responsive poly(N,N-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDEAEMA) brushes via a surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) method, then the extremity of PDEAEMA was functionalized by linking the polyacrylamide (PAAm) brushes via ATRP, where they were assembled with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) efficiently by altering the deposition time. The swelling–shrinking states of the PDEAEMA brushes can be tuned just by passing CO2 and N2 through a solution alternately. The unique plasmonic surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing properties of these stimulable substrates were investigated using 4-mercaptophenol (4MPh) as a molecular probe. When alternating CO2 and N2 bubbling in the water solution, the reversible switching of the SERS signals was complete. By in situ contact-mode atomic force microscopy, the thickness of the polymer layer was observed to be 26 nm in CO2 saturated water, and after N2 bubbling to remove CO2 it decreased to 15 nm, causing the AuNPs to move near to the gold surface. Meanwhile, the distance between the nearby AuNPs becomes smaller, and the surface coverage (φ) of the AuNPs increased from 27% to 35%. The reported CO2-responsive plasmonic nanosensor provided a dynamic SERS platform, with reversible regulation for electromagnetic coupling between the AuNPs and the gold surface, and between nearby AuNPs.