Voltage regulation of fluorescence emission of single dyes bound to gold nanoparticles

Growth of highly fluorescent polyethylene glycol- and zwitterion-functionalized gold nanoclusters

We have prepared and characterized a new set of highly fluorescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) using one-step aqueous reduction of a gold precursor in the presence of bidentate ligands made of lipoic acid anchoring groups, appended with either a poly(ethylene glycol) short chain or a zwitterion group. The AuNCs fluoresce in the red to near-infrared region of the optical spectrum with emission centered at ∼750 nm and a quantum yield of ∼10-14%, and they exhibit long fluorescence lifetimes (up to ∼300 ns). Dispersions of these AuNCs exhibit great long-term colloidal stability, over a wide range of pHs (2-13) and in the presence of high electrolyte concentrations, and a strong resistance to reducing agents such as glutathione. The growth strategy further permitted the controlled, in situ functionalization of the NCs with reactive groups (e.g., carboxylic acid or amine), making these nanoclusters compatible with common and simple-to-implement coupling strategies, such as carbodiimide chemistry. These properties combined make these fluorescent NCs greatly promising for use in various imaging and sensing applications where NIR and long-lived excitations are desired.

Influence of external voltage on the reprotonated polyaniline films by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy

In this paper, we reported the electrical fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra measurements on the reprotonated polyaniline (PANI) thin films. Application of external voltage reduced the intensity in FT-IR spectra and resulted in the shift of band situation. The FT-IR spectra as a function of temperature were also conducted in order to investigate the effect of Joule heating. We found that the influence of CC of phenyl units and the CC of quinoid were quite different as a function of external voltage and temperature. The current-voltage (I-V) curves of the PANI film measured in the range of 0-175 V showed that the resistance kept constant at 0-75 V while it increased from 75 to 175 V. The I-V curves confirmed the presence of Joule heating effect during 75-175 V. According to the experiment results, we concluded that external voltage could produce large average hopping energy, which allowed the charge transfer by hopping between the conducting domains during 0-75 V. The deprotonation of PANI was caused by Joule heating effect, resulting in the decreasing conductivity from 75 to 175 V.