Issue 1, 2015

Photoinduced energy transfer in dye encapsulated polymer nanoparticle–CdTe quantum dot light harvesting assemblies

Abstract

Here, we have designed organic–inorganic light harvesting assemblies in which highly efficient resonance energy transfer occurs from CdTe quantum dots (donors) to Nile Red dye (acceptor) encapsulated polymer nanoparticles. Our motivation is to develop an assembly where the quantum dots (QDs) will absorb visible light as an antenna material, followed by the funneling of the exciton to an acceptor molecule (the Nile Red dye), which is confined in polymer nanoparticles in order to enhance their energy transfer efficiency. An ionic liquid is used to prepare the positively charged Nile Red (NR) dye encapsulated poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer nanoparticles. Then, negatively charged thioglycolic acid capped CdTe QDs are attached to the surface of the polymer nanoparticles by electrostatic interaction. The drastic quenching of the photoluminescence (60%) and the shortening of the decay time of the CdTe QDs imply an efficient energy transfer (73%) from the CdTe QDs to the NR dye doped PMMA nanoparticles. Time resolved anisotropy decay measurements reveal the rotational motion of the dye molecules inside the PMMA nanoparticles. Interesting findings reveal that the efficient energy transfer in the organic–inorganic assemblies may open up new possibilities for the design of an artificial light harvesting system for future applications.

Graphical abstract: Photoinduced energy transfer in dye encapsulated polymer nanoparticle–CdTe quantum dot light harvesting assemblies

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
11 Aug 2014
Accepted
11 Sep 2014
First published
11 Sep 2014

Mater. Horiz., 2015,2, 60-67

Author version available

Photoinduced energy transfer in dye encapsulated polymer nanoparticle–CdTe quantum dot light harvesting assemblies

S. Kundu, S. Bhattacharyya and A. Patra, Mater. Horiz., 2015, 2, 60 DOI: 10.1039/C4MH00138A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements