Inspired by and honouring place, we are a community-minded, globally engaged university where we transform ideas into meaningful impact.

Chemistry students are exploring programs in Canada, China, and Europe

Chemistry students are exploring programs in Canada, China, and Europe

The Department of Chemistry reaffirms the University’s acknowledgment with respect of the Lkwungen peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands, and the ...

In the past decade, interest in nanoplasmonic structures has experienced significant growth, owing to rapid advancements in materials science and the evolution of novel nanofabrication techniques. The...

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an analytical technique capable of detecting trace amounts of specific species. The uniqueness of vibrational signatures is a major advantage of SERS. This combination of sensitivity and specificity has motivated researchers to develop diverse analytical methodologies leveraging SERS. However, even 50 years after its first observation, SERS is still perceived as an unreliable technique for quantification. This perception has precluded the application of SERS in laboratories that rely on consistent quantification (for regulatory purposes, for instance). In this review, we describe some of the aspects that lead to SERS intensity variations and how those challenges were addressed in the 50 years of the technique. The goal is to identify the sources of variations in SERS intensities and then demonstrate that, even with these pitfalls, the technique can be used for quantification when factors such as nature of the substrate, experimental conditions, sample preparation, surface chemistry, and data analysis are carefully considered and tailored for a particular application.

In the past decade, interest in nanoplasmonic structures has experienced significant growth, owing to rapid advancements in materials science and the evolution of novel nanofabrication techniques. The...