Copper nanostructures into pores of SiO2/Si template: galvanic displacement, chemical and structural characterization

Due to the low cost and plasmonic properties existence in the visible range of wavelengths, copper nanostructures are of great interest for Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. In this paper we propose a method for synthesizing copper nanostructures by galvanic displacement into the pores of the ion-track SiO2/Si template. The copper deposit morphology grown in a limited volume of SiO2 pores on silicon is studied. The results of electron diffraction indicate that copper deposit contains oxides phases CuO and Cu2O. By using of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, chemical composition and elements bonds of SiO2(Cu)/Si system are studied in detail. The possibility of using such structures for Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is discussed.