Fluorescence enhancement, blinking suppression, and gray states of individual semiconductor nanocrystals close to gold nanoparticles

Nano Lett. 2010 Oct 13;10(10):4166-74. doi: 10.1021/nl102451c.

Abstract

The optical properties of nanocrystals are drastically changed by the interaction with adjacent metal nanoparticles. By time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, we investigate CdSe multishell nanocrystals coupled to self-assembled films of Au nanoparticles. The distance between emitter and metal is adjusted by coating the nanocrystals with silica shells. These NCs showed increased fluorescence intensity, a decreased fluorescence lifetime, strong blinking suppression, and fluorescence from gray states. These observations can be explained by the metal particle induced change of excitation and recombination rates.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't