Biomimetic Preparation and Dual-Color Bioimaging of Fluorescent Silicon Nanoparticles

Fluorescent silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs), as the most important zero-dimensional silicon nanostructures, hold high promise for long-awaited silicon-based optic applications. There currently remain major challenges for the green, inexpensive, and mass production of fluorescent SiNPs, resulting in difficulties in sufficiently exploiting the properties of these remarkable materials. Here, we show that fluorescent small-sized (∼3.8 nm) SiNPs can be produced through biomimetic synthesis in rapid (10 min), low-cost, and environmentally benign manners. The as-prepared SiNPs simultaneously feature bright fluorescence (quantum yield (QY), ∼15-20%), narrow emission spectral width (full width at half-maximum (fwhm), ∼30 nm), and nontoxicity, making them as high-quality fluorescent probes for biological imaging in vitro and in vivo.