Controlled fabrication of surface-enhanced-Raman scattering-active silver nanostructures on polypyrrole films

Different kinds of silver nanostructures have been deposited on the surface of the polypyrrole (PPy) films by silver-mirror reaction. The morphology of silver nanostructures can be controlled by modulating the reaction conditions. The application of the as-prepared PPy–silver composites in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was studied using 4-mercaptopyridine (4-Mpy) as probe molecules. The results showed that PPy–silver composites exhibited excellence SERS ability and could be used as SERS-active substrates for detection of trace molecules.