(668d) An Enhanced Generation of Singlet Oxygen through the Use of Au Bipyramids/SiO2 core-Shell Nanoparticles for Photocatalysis

Gold nanomaterials display interesting nanoplasmonic features with potential application in various fields depending on the size and shape of the metal nanoparticle (NP). Au bipyramids (AuBPs) exhibit intense and well-defined plasmon resonance, easily tunable with the aspect ratio and synergy between Au NPs and chromophores can enhance the photophysical properties of nearby molecules. In Rose Bengal (RB)-NPs systems for the production of singlet oxygen (¹O₂), it is now well established that the control of the dye-to-NP distance ranging from 10 to 20 nm is crucial to achieve the proper coupling between plasmon resonance and the dye^[1]. We have developed AuBPs@mesoporous SiO₂ core-shell nanostructures to control the distance between metallic surface and photosensitizers in order to increase the production of ¹O₂ through metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF). An enhancement of ¹O₂ generation has been shown with the obtained anisotropic AuBPs and AuBPs@mSiO₂ in presence of RB using different methods of ¹O₂ quantification. They are of interest to the application in photooxygenation reactions e.g. α-terpinene to ascaridole, an anthelmintic drug.

Reference

1. H.H. Lin, I.C. Chen, J. Phys. Chem. C. 119 (2015) 26663–26671.