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Observation and Analysis of Blinking Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering

Observation and Analysis of Blinking Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering

Published on: January 11, 2018

Electron transfer-induced blinking in Ag nanodot fluorescence.

Sandeep A Patel¹, Matteo Cozzuol, Joel M Hales

¹School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry. C, Nanomaterials and Interfaces

|February 18, 2010

Summary

DNA-encapsulated silver nanoclusters (nanodots) show tunable fluorescence. A shared charge transfer mechanism explains their blinking behavior and optical properties, crucial for nanotech applications.

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Area of Science:

Nanotechnology
Materials Science
Physical Chemistry

Background:

Single-stranded DNA-encapsulated silver nanoclusters (nanodots) display unique optical properties.
These nanodots exhibit strong, discrete fluorescence across visible and near-infrared spectra.
Their absorption and emission characteristics are sensitive to solvent polarity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the underlying mechanism of fluorescence intermittency (blinking) in DNA-Ag nanoclusters.
To explore the relationship between solvent polarity, optical properties, and blinking dynamics.
To elucidate the charge transfer processes responsible for nanodot behavior.

Main Methods:

Spectroscopic analysis (absorption, emission) of nanodots in varying solvent polarities.
Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy to study blinking dynamics (microseconds timescale).
Transient absorption spectroscopy in the near-infrared region.

Main Results:

Nanodots exhibit solvent polarity-dependent absorption and emission spectra.
All examined nanodots show similar microsecond-scale single-molecule blinking dynamics.
Transient absorption spectra are largely indistinguishable across different nanodots and excitation energies.
Evidence suggests a common charge transfer mechanism across various nanodot species.

Conclusions:

A unified charge transfer mechanism explains the observed fluorescence intermittency and optical properties.
Photoinduced charge transfer from the silver cluster to DNA bases creates long-lived trap states, causing blinking.
This mechanism is fundamental to the behavior of DNA-Ag nanocluster emitters.