Surface functionalized 3D printed metal structures as next generation recyclable SERS substrates
Uzma Malik, Roxanne Hubesch, Paramita Koley, Maciej Mazur, Sunil Mehla, Sai Kishore Butti, Milan Brandt, Selvakannan Periasamy, Suresh K. Bhargava
Abstract
monitoring of chemical reactions in fuels and chemical processing. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a well-matured additive manufacturing technique which generates metallic structures through localised melting and joining of metal powders using a laser. LPBF reduces material wastage during manufacturing, is applicable to a wide range of metals and alloys, and allows printing of complex internal structures. This feature article elaborates the use of soot templating, chemical vapour deposition and electroless plating techniques for grafting plasmonic and semiconductor nanoparticles on the surface of LPBF manufactured metallic substrates. The capability to fabricate different types of intricate metallic lattices using additive manufacturing is demonstrated and technical challenges in their adequate functionalization are elaborated. The developed methodology allows tailoring of the substrate structure, composition, morphology, plasmonic and photocatalytic activities and thus unveils a new class of recyclable SERS substrates.