Enhanced Photoluminescence of Gold Nanoparticle-Quantum Dot Hybrids Confined in Hairy Polymer Nanofibers

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Sajan Singh - , Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) (Author)
  • Avinash Raulo - , Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) (Author)
  • Ajeet Singh - , Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) (Author)
  • Mona Mittal - , Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) (Author)
  • Andriy Horechyy - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • René Hübner - , Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • Petr Formanek - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Rajiv K. Srivastava - , Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) (Author)
  • Sameer Sapra - , Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) (Author)
  • Andreas Fery - , Chair of Physical Chemistry of Polymeric Materials, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Bhanu Nandan - , Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) (Author)

Abstract

In the present work, we have studied the influence of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the photoluminescence (PL) behavior of cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) confined in spatially separated soft nanoscale cylindrical domains. These cylindrical domains, in the form of hairy core-shell nanofibers, were fabricated via cooperative self-assembly of polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) block copolymer (BCP) mixed with pre-synthesized CdSe QDs and AuNPs. The CdSe QDs and AuNPs were simultaneously incorporated in the P4VP cylindrical domains of the self-assembled BCP structure. It was found that the confinement imposed by the nanometer-sized cylindrical core resulted in the localization of the CdSe QDs and AuNPs in close proximity. Notably, it was observed that the PL intensity of the CdSe QDs could be manipulated by varying the amount of AuNPs present in the cylinder core. Interestingly, in the presence of a very low fraction of AuNPs, the PL intensity of the CdSe QDs increased compared to the AuNPs-free system. However, further increase in the fraction of AuNPs led to gradual quenching of the photoluminescence intensity. The PL enhancement and quenching plausibly was due to the interplay between the energy transfer due to surface plasmon coupling and FRET/electron transfer from QDs to the AuNPs. The resulting functional nanofibers could have potential applications in sensing, bioimaging, and optoelectronic devices.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)831-841
Number of pages11
JournalChemNanoMat
Volume7
Issue number7
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Block copolymer, CdSe quantum dots, Gold nanoparticles, Nanofibers., Self-assembly