Systematic study on the sensitivity enhancement in graphene plasmonic sensors based on layer-by-layer self-assembled graphene oxide multilayers and their reduced analogues

The use of graphene in conventional plasmonic devices was suggested by several theoretic research studies. However, the existing theoretic studies are not consistent with one another and the experimental studies are still at the initial stage. To reveal the role of graphenes on the plasmonic sensors, we deposited graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) thin films on Au films and their refractive index (RI) sensitivity was compared for the first time in SPR-based sensors. The deposition of GO bilayers with number of deposition L from 1 to 5 was carried out by alternative dipping of Au substrate in positively- and negatively charged GO solutions. The fabrication of layer-by-layer self-assembly of the graphene films was monitored in terms of the SPR angle shift. GO-deposited Au film was treated with hydrazine to reduce the GO. For the rGO-Au sample, 1 bilayer sample showed a higher RI sensitivity than bare Au film, whereas increasing the rGO film from 2 to 5 layers reduced the RI sensitivity. In the case of GO-deposited Au film, the 3 bilayer sample showed the highest sensitivity. The biomolecular sensing was also performed for the graphene multilayer systems using BSA and anti-BSA antibody.