US Patent 7988887 - Metal-polymer nanocomposite

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7988887.html

This patent from Los Alamos National Security teaches a new way to form substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) using gold or silver nanostructures. Claim 1 reads:

1. A metal-polymer composite comprising:

a) a thermally-cured dense polyaniline substrate;

b) an acid dopant; and,

c) metal nanostructure deposits wherein the deposits have a morphology dependent upon the acid dopant.