Interconnected Oriented Crystalline Domains of Assembled Ag Nanoparticles: Structural Characterization and Efficacy as SERS Substrate for Detection of R6G and Monosodium Glutamate

This study aims to design interconnected oriented crystalline domains of silver nanoparticles using a template‐free, solvent‐evaporation‐induced method with ample coverage over the substrate. The formation of these interconnected, oriented crystalline domains was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and grazing‐ incidence small‐angle x‐ray scattering (GISAXS), indicating the presence of crystalline domains with particles arranged in an ordered manner within each domain, while the domains are connected randomly. The lateral spacing between nanoparticles in the domains was calculated using GISAXS. The effect of nanoparticle concentration on the interconnectivity of the domains was demonstrated. The importance of the lateral distance between nanoparticles and the presence of domains close to each other, i.e., the interconnectivity of the domains, was showcased for the efficacy of these substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)‐based detection. The efficacy of the interconnected oriented crystalline domains as a SERS substrate was demonstrated using Rhodamine 6G (R6G) dye and Monosodium glutamate (MSG) as the probe molecules.