Two-dimensional tellurium nanosheet: a novel sensitive and stable surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrate

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with merits such as low cost, high chemical inertness and tunable electronic structure have become favorable candidates for next generation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) platforms. However, the SERS sensitivity of 2D materials still needs to be improved and the large-scale synthesis methods should be developed to meet the requirements of practical applications. In this work, we explored performances of a brand-new SERS substrate made of 2D Te nanosheets (NSs), which exhibited thickness-dependent SERS properties, with thinner nanosheets yielding stronger SERS intensity. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) reached the order of 10−9 M combining with SERS enhancement factors (EFs) as high as 105 for copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and methylene blue (MB). This impressive SERS performance could be attributed to the strong interaction and photoinduced charge transfer (PICT) processes between 2D Te NSs and molecules. Benefiting from the appropriate positions of valence band (VB) and conduction band (CB), the 2D Te NSs showed significant Raman enhancement for various molecules. Furthermore, the 2D Te NSs exhibited good air-stability for up to ∼2 months. These outstanding performances establish 2D Te NSs as a favorable SERS detection material with enormous potential in practical applications.