Preparation and surface enhanced Raman scattering behavior of Ag-coated C60 nanoclusters

Ag-coated C60 nanoclusters were prepared and characterized with X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm measurement. The Ag-coated C60 nanoclusters were assembled on the glass substrate to form a thin film using the layer-by-layer technique. Meanwhile, the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of musk xylene adsorbed on the film of Ag-coated C60 nanoclusters was explored. The results indicated that the film of Ag-coated C60 nanoclusters was a unique SERS-active substrate with a detection limit of 10−9 mol L−1 for musk xylene. Furthermore, the surface enhanced mechanisms were discussed preliminarily.