Surface modified graphene oxide nanosheets by gold ion implantation as a substrate for surface enhanced Raman scattering

Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets are the nanoscale building blocks for stabilization of metal nanoparticles with new hybrid nanocomposite properties. Here, we report on GO nanosheets implanted with low energy gold (Au) ion induced reactive sites for nucleation and intercalation of Au particles in a few layers of GO nanosheets. The nucleation and intercalation mechanisms were dependent on the doses of implanted Au ions in GO nanosheets. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman analysis of Au ion implanted GO nanostructure showed surface roughening and altered surface chemical states in GO nanostructure. We also observed that Au ion implantation induced reduction of GO surface as confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and enhanced current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. Our study also indicated that the Au implanted-GO nanocomposites exhibited excellent surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effects which can be used as an excellent SERS substrate.