Influence of surface plasmon resonance on the emission intermittency of photoluminescence from gold nano-sea-urchins

Nanoscale. 2010 Dec;2(12):2639-46. doi: 10.1039/c0nr00330a. Epub 2010 Oct 22.

Abstract

The effect of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) on the blinking emission of photoluminescence from noble metal nanostructures still requires further investigation in quantum mechanics and limits their applications. We investigate one photon luminescent emission intermittency of noble metal nanostructures with differently sized sea-urchin-shaped nanoparticles, known as nano-sea-urchins (NSUs). The probability of the "on" process in one photon luminescent emission intermittency of NSUs increases due to the strong electric field of SPR. This mechanism is explained by the reaction potential threshold model we propose here. Furthermore, the ameliorated photoluminescence of NSUs is strong enough to excite waterweed bioluminescence and can act as an in vivo bio-light emitting device, which has potential applications in cytotoxicity, bio-imaging and bio-labeling.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacopa / chemistry
  • Chlorophyll / chemistry
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Plant Leaves / chemistry
  • Sea Urchins / chemistry*
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Chlorophyll
  • Gold