Genesis of enhanced Raman bands in SERS spectra of 2-mercaptoimidazole: FTIR, Raman, DFT, and SERS.

The surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of biologically and industrially significant, 2-mercaptoimidazole (2-MI) molecule have been investigated. The SERS spectra of the molecule at different concentrations of the adsorbate are compared with its Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and normal Raman spectra (NRS) in varied environments. The optimized molecular structures and vibrational wavenumbers of the various forms (ca. cationic, neutral, ylidic, anionic) of the molecule have been estimated from the density functional theory (DFT). The vibrational signatures of the molecule have been assigned for the first time from the potential energy distributions (PEDs). The analyses of the Raman vibrational signatures reveal the coexistence of all the different forms of the molecule in the solid state and in aqueous solution. Concentration dependent SERS spectra of the molecule at neutral pH of the medium together with the multivariate data analyses techniques also suggest the concomitance of all the probable forms of the molecule in the surface adsorbed state. The genesis of selective enhancements of the Raman bands in the SERS spectra emanating from the cationic, neutral, ylidic and anionic forms of the molecule have been divulged from the view of the Albretcht's "A" and Herzberg-Teller (HT) charge transfer (CT) contribution.