The field of two-dimensional (2D) and layered materials is stimulating the interest of researchers worldwide who are eager to advance and innovate viable pathways for large-scale synthesis, doping and monolayer integration, and develop unique characterization methods for research and exploitation. Raman scattering spectroscopy is one of the most powerful and widely used non-contact, non-destructive optical technologies for determining the characteristics of two-dimensional materials.
Alfa Chemistry offers tests to characterize 2D materials using Raman-based techniques, which are essential for understanding information about the chemical, magnetic, electronic, and structural properties of 2D materials. Contact us today so we can help you with your 2D material testing!
Why AFM
Raman is a light scattering technique that produces several peaks that show the strength and wavelength position of the light it scatters. Each peak represents a chemical bond vibration as well as bond groups such as benzene ring breathing modes, polymer chain vibrations, lattice patterns, and so on. Raman spectroscopy is a tool for nondestructive chemical analysis. We can extract and quantify a large amount of physical information about 2D materials from Raman spectroscopy, including information about layer thickness, disorder, edges and grain boundaries, doping, strain, symmetry, layer orientation, thermal conductivity, magnetic ordering, and unique excitation of information density waves.
- Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a popular characterization method. Due to its high density of states (DOS) around the Fermi energy level, TMD has been discovered to be a suitable plasma-free substrate for SERS.
- Hyperspectral imaging is another popular application of Raman spectroscopy. This useful tool connects spectral and spatial data, with each pixel on the map including the whole Raman spectrum. Hyperspectral methods can be used to investigate tiny physical effects such as disorder, layer orientation, and symmetry by revealing subtle spatial variations of distinctive 2D material peaks.
Fig 1. Illustration of how SERS generates a larger signal from fewer molecules. In the figure, the spontaneous Raman spectrum of thiophenol from a defined volume is compared to the SERS signal from an estimated number of thiophenol molecules on a nanostructured surface. (Schultz Z. D, et al. 2020)
Raman-based techniques have been at the forefront of developing novel ways for measuring the thermal characteristics of atomically thin materials and heterogeneous systems.
Service Detail
| Testing Services | Raman |
| Optional Excitation Wavelength | 325 nm, 514 nm, 532 nm, 633 nm, 785 nm |
| Sample Type | Powder / Film / Bulk / Liquid |
| Instrument Model | Thermo Fisher DXR3 Raman Microscope, Renishaw InVia Confocal Raman Microscope, HORIBA LabRAM HR Evolution |
| Lead Time | 2~3 Weeks |
Our requirements for samples are as follows:
- For powder sample: Please provide samples larger than 50 mg. If the quantity is limited, please contact us.
- For bulk/film sample: Sample size should be within 2 × 2 × 1 cm ~ 5 × 5 × 1 cm. Please mark the test surface.
- For liquid sample: Please provide 5~10 mL of sample.
Note:
- Please ensure that the sample does not produce strong fluorescence at the excitation wavelength selected by the customer, so as not to affect the Raman spectrum.
- All samples are non-refundable, please contact Alfa Chemistry for special requirements.
Reference
- Schultz Z. D, et al. (2020). "Demystifying SERS: A Newcomer's Guide to Using Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering." Spectroscopy. 35(8): 15-19.
Please kindly note that our products are for research use only.
