Direct observation of enhanced plasmon-driven catalytic reaction activity of Au nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxides by SERS

Graphene-based nanocomposites have recently attracted tremendous research interest in the field of catalysis due to their unique optical and electronic properties. However, direct observation of enhanced plasmon-driven catalytic activity of Au nanoparticles (NPs) supported on reduced graphene oxides (Au/rGO) has rarely been reported. Herein, based on the reduction from 4-nitrobenzenethiol (4-NBT) to p,p′-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB), the catalytic property of Au/rGO nanocomposites was investigated and compared with corresponding Au NP samples with similar size distribution. Our results show that Au/rGO nanocomposites could serve as a good catalytic and analytic platform for plasmon-driven chemical reactions. In addition, systematic comparisons were conducted during power- and time-dependent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) experiments, which exhibited a lower power threshold and higher catalytic efficiency for Au/rGO as compared to Au NPs toward the reaction.