title: Hybrid gold-nanoparticle-cored conjugated thiophene dendrimers: synthesis, characterization, and energy-transfer studies.
abstract: A series of hybrid Au-nanoparticle-dendrimer materials: nanoparticle-cored thiophene dendrimers (NCTDs) were synthesized, characterized, and investigated for their energy-transfer properties. These hybrid nanoparticles were obtained by the simultaneous and in situ reduction of gold(III) chloride and self-assembly of the thiol-containing thiophene dendritic ligands. The dendron ligands were radially attached to the gold nanoparticles and were analyzed by TEM, UV/Vis, (1)H NMR, and FTIR spectroscopies. The solution fluorescence of the attached thiophene dendrons are quenched progressively. Both alkyl-chain length and dendron size have significant influence on the energy-transfer efficiency, as well as on core sizes and size distribution of the Au nanoparticles. In spite of the phenomenon's dependence on nanoparticle size, the energy transfer generally follows the 1/d(2) distance dependence. Single NCTD nanoparticles were also adsorbed on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and uniform aggregates were observed on mica flat substrates.
authors.affiliation: University of Houston, Department of Chemistry, Houston, TX 77204-5003, USA.
authors.forename: Suxiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fulghum
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Krueger
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Patton
authors.forename: Jin-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Rigoberto C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Advincula
mesh_terms: D050091:Dendrimers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D004735:Energy Transfer; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; D013876:Thiophenes; D006046:Gold