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Published on: March 2, 2016
Surface plasmon enhanced energy transfer between donor and acceptor CdTe nanocrystal quantum dot monolayers
Manuela Lunz1, Valerie A Gerard, Yurii K Gun'ko
1Semiconductor Photonics Group, School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Nano Letters
|July 16, 2011
Summary
Surface plasmon enhanced Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) between quantum dots (QDs) was significantly boosted using a gold nanoparticle layer. This structure dramatically increased FRET rates and the Förster radius, highlighting donor QD influence.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Quantum Chemistry
Background:
- Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) is crucial for energy transfer studies.
- Cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) offer tunable optical properties.
- Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) can influence energy transfer phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate surface plasmon enhanced FRET between CdTe QDs.
- To explore the effect of gold nanoparticles on FRET efficiency.
- To understand the role of donor QD properties in plasmon-mediated FRET.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a multilayer QD-gold nanoparticle-QD sandwich structure.
- Comparison with a simple QD-QD bilayer structure.
- Characterization of FRET efficiency and Förster radius.
Main Results:
- Observed significant FRET enhancement in the presence of gold nanoparticles.
- Achieved an 80-fold increase in FRET rate.
- Reported a 103% increase in Förster radius.
- Demonstrated a strong dependence of plasmon-mediated FRET on donor QD characteristics.
Conclusions:
- Multilayer structures with gold nanoparticles effectively enhance FRET between QDs.
- Gold nanoparticles act as a crucial mediator for surface plasmon-enhanced FRET.
- Donor QD properties play a significant role in optimizing plasmon-enhanced FRET processes.
