Synthesis and Optical Properties of Hybrid Gold Nanoparticles Coupled with Quantum Dots and Porphyrins

1 online resource (271 pages) : PDF

2016

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Coupling of optically active materials, or chromphores, to plasmonic nanoparticles represents a new research area which has the ability to produce higher efficiency lighting and photovoltaic materials. The main goal of this project was to create novel systems for plasmonic coupling of different chromophores to gold nanoparticles. The plasmonic platforms utilized were gold nanoparticles coated in semiconductor shells of cadmium sulfide or zinc sulfide. The crystalline, semiconductor shell acts as a dielectric spacer to separate the chromophore from the metal surface. Intimate contact to the metal surface may result in increased energy transfer and nonradiative relaxation mechanisms, resulting in shorts for photovoltaic devices and quenching in applications using light emission. Plasmonically enhanced photo-absorbers can be used to boost the collected photocurrent in photovoltaic applications while enhanced fluorescent materials can be used in imaging or display technologies in which bright and stable, solution-state materials are needed. Quantum dots were linked to the nanoparticle surface, via a carbodiimide linking process. The thickness of the shell was then altered to optimize the spacing distance needed to maximize the quantum dot radiative rate. Porphyrins were linked to the surface of the semiconductor shell via deprotonated phenyl acid groups, located on the 5,10,15 or 20 positions of tetraphenyl porphyrin. Enhancements in the porphyrin extinction coefficient when bound to the nanoparticles were estimated through analysis of the absorbance spectral changes.

doctoral dissertations

Nanoscience
Chemistry
Nanotechnology

Ph.D.

Chromophores
Nanoparticles
Plasmon
Porphyrins
Quantum Dots

Nanoscale Science

Jones, Marcus

Walter, Michael
Stokes, Edward
Schmedake, Thomas
Xu, Terry

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2016.

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For additional information, see http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/.

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Tobias_uncc_0694D_11242

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:1009