Functional palladium metal films for plasmonic devices: An experimental proof

Palladium-based, Inverted surface plasmon resonance substrates with functional surfaces are presented and characterized. The advantages of the use of palladium in lieu of other metals (most notably gold) are discussed and assayed experimentally. We demonstrate how the bare metal films can be functionalized by thiol chemistry or by adsorption of functional graphene sheets and how the features of the surfaces affect the performance of the substrate. © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd.