New Trends in SERS Substrates With Micro- and Nanostructures: Materials, Substrates, Preparation, and Applications

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a frontier technology for high-sensitivity analysis of molecules and chemical substances, and a useful tool in the sensing field relying on fingerprint recognition ability, high sensitivity, multiple detection, biocompatibility, and so forth. SERS substrates have been well concerned attributed to their ability to enhance Raman signals, which makes them useful in various applications, including sensing and detection. At the same time, flexible SERS substrates enable sample loads to meet requirements and, therefore, have high sensitivity for Raman detection, but the detection capacity is still limited. In this paper, the basic principle and method of SERS were reviewed, and some new trends of micro- and nanostructured SERS substrates were reviewed from the aspects of material, matrix type, preparation, and application.