Raman enhancement induced by exciton hybridization in molecules and 2D materials

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a powerful technique for trace-level fingerprinting. Recently, layered two-dimensional (2D) materials have gained significant interest as SERS substrates for providing stable, uniform, and reproducible Raman enhancement with the potential for trace-level detection. Yet, the development of effective 2D SERS substrates is still hindered by the lack of fundamental understanding of the coupling mechanism between target molecules and substrates. Here, we report a systematic excitation-dependent Raman spectroscopy investigation on the coupling between 2D materials such as SnS2, MoS2, WSe2, and graphene and small organic molecules like rhodamine 6G (Rh 6G). Strong coupling between SnS2 and Rh 6G is found due to their degenerate excitons through Raman excitation profiles (REP), leading to the enhancement of Rh 6G vibrational modes that are observable down to 10−13 M. Our study shows that exciton coupling in the substrate-adsorbate complex plays a vital role in the Raman enhancement effect, opening a new route for designing SERS substrates for high sensitivity.