Mesoscopic FRET Antenna Materials by Self-Assembling Iridium(III) Complexes and BODIPY Dyes

Andrew J Bagnall; Marina Santana Vega; Jonathan Martinelli; Kristina Djanashvili; Fabio Cucinotta

doi:10.1002/chem.201802745

Mesoscopic FRET Antenna Materials by Self-Assembling Iridium(III) Complexes and BODIPY Dyes

Chemistry. 2018 Aug 14;24(46):11992-11999. doi: 10.1002/chem.201802745. Epub 2018 Jul 18.

Authors

Andrew J Bagnall¹, Marina Santana Vega¹, Jonathan Martinelli², Kristina Djanashvili², Fabio Cucinotta¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Bedson Building, Queen Victoria Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK.
² Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, The Netherlands.

PMID: 29969162
DOI: 10.1002/chem.201802745

Abstract

This study presents a new design of light-harvesting antenna materials using two dyes organised into mesoporous silica: an iridium(III) complex and a BODIPY-derived surfactant that undergo Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), acting, respectively, as donor and acceptor. The chemical structure of each dye determines the position taken within the micellar templates used for the synthesis of the silica host, which maintains mesopore order as shown by TEM imaging. Steady-state and time-resolved UV-visible spectroscopy revealed that incorporation of the iridium complex into the silica shields it from oxygen-induced quenching and allows a degree of control over the donor-acceptor distance, yielding FRET efficiencies from 24 to 76 % and tuneable emission ranges. Such silica-based antennae show promising properties for the realisation of polychromatic sensitisers for photovoltaics and photocatalysis.

Keywords: energy transfer; host-guest systems; light-harvesting; luminescence; mesoporous materials.