Energy Transfer of CdSe/ZnS Nanocrystals Encapsulated with Rhodamine-Dye Functionalized Poly(acrylic acid)

Energy transfer between a CdSe/ZnS nanocrystal (NC) donor and a rhodamine isothiocyanate (RITC) acceptor has been achieved via a functionalized poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) encapsulating layer over the surface of the NC. The modification of PAA with both N-octylamine (OA) and 5-amino-1-pentanol (AP), [PAA-OA-AP], allows for the simultaneous water-solubilization and functionalization of the NCs, underscoring the ease of synthesizing NC-acceptor conjugates with this strategy. Photophysical studies of the NC-RITC constructs showed that energy transfer is efficient, with k approaching 10⁸ s^-1. The ease of the covalent conjugation of molecules to NCs with PAA-OA-AP coating, together with efficient energy transfer, makes the NCs encapsulated with PAA-OA-AP attractive candidates for sensing applications.