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Photothermal Response of Photoluminescent Silicon Nanocrystals
Sarah Regli1, Joel A Kelly1, Amber M Shukaliak1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Abstract:
We demonstrate that silicon nanocrystals (Si-NCs) exhibiting relatively high near-IR photoluminescent quantum yields also exhibit a notable photothermal (PT) response. The PT effect has been quantified as a function of NC size, defect concentration, and irradiating energy, suggesting that the origin of the PT response is a combination of carrier thermalization and defect-mediated heating. The PT effect observed under NIR irradiation suggests that Si-NCs could find use in combined in vivo PL imaging and PT therapy.
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