title: Insight into a reversible energy transfer system.
abstract: Resonance energy transfer (RET) processes have wide applications; these processes involve a unidirectional energy transfer from a particular donor to a particular acceptor. Here, we report a plasmonic resonance energy transfer (PRET), which occurs from the surface of gold nanoparticles to fluorescent organic dyes, and coexists with a nanometal surface energy transfer (NSET) that operates in the reverse direction. The coexistence of both PRET and NSET in opposite directions means that the roles of both donor and acceptor can be interchanged, which could be identified by using spectrofluorometric measurements and light scattering dark field microscopic imaging. The experimental data could be further theoretically supported using Persson and Lang's model, the quasi-static approximation and finite-difference time-domain simulation. Moreover, disruption of the PRET process by altering the energy transfer pairs suggests that interactions occur inside the reversible energy transfer system, which manifest by increasing the fluorescence quenching efficiency of the NSET process.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Luminescent and Real-Time Analytical Chemistry (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China. chengzhi@swu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ming Xuan
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
authors.forename: Hong Yan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
authors.forename: Peng Fei
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Luminescent and Real-Time Analytical Chemistry (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China. chengzhi@swu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. lina@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Luminescent and Real-Time Analytical Chemistry (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China. chengzhi@swu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yuan Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Luminescent and Real-Time Analytical Chemistry (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China. chengzhi@swu.edu.cn and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
authors.forename: Cheng Zhi
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Huang