Real-time tracking of colloidal stability based on collision behaviors probed by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The colloidal particles exhibited higher stability in the solution with lower particle concentration, higher viscosity and neutral medium. The SERS intensity of single-particle collision was estimated to be about 2.06 × 10 counts, and the average number of collisions for the 0.13 mmol/dm SiO@Ag solution was about 1.11 × 10 times/spike in the "spikes" with SERS intensity of 23.0 cps. It is believed that the SERS based strategy would be developed as a promising tool for obtaining the deeper insight into the nature of collisions in the colloidal science.