Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy: a versatile spectroscopic and analytical technique used in nanoscience and nanotechnology

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect deals with the enhancement of the Raman scattering intensity by molecules in the presence of a nanostructured metallic surface. The first observation of surface-enhanced Raman spectra was in 1974, when Fleischmann and his group at the University of Southampton, reported the first high-quality Raman spectra of monolayer-adsorbed pyridine on an electrochemically roughened Ag electrode surface. Over the last thirty years, it has developed into a versatile spectroscopic and analytical technique due to the rapid and explosive progress of nanoscience and nanotechnology. This review article describes the recent development in field of surface-enhanced Raman scattering research, especially fabrication of various SERS active substrates, mechanism of SERS effect and its various applications in both surface sciences and analytical sciences.