10-FoldQuantum Yield Improvement of Ag2S Nanoparticles by FineCompositional Tuning
2020
Ag2S semiconductor
nanoparticles (NPs) are near-infrared luminescent probes with outstanding
properties (good biocompatibility, optimum spectral operation range,
and easy biofunctionalization) that make them ideal probes for in
vivo imaging. Ag2S NPs have, indeed, made possible amazing
challenges including in vivo brain imaging and advanced diagnosis
of the cardiovascular system. Despite the continuous redesign of synthesis
routes, the emission quantum yield (QY) of Ag2S NPs is
typically below 0.2%. This leads to a low luminescent brightness that
avoids their translation into the clinics. In this work, an innovative
synthetic methodology that permits a 10-fold increment in the absolute
QY from 0.2 up to 2.3% is presented. Such an increment in the QY is
accompanied by an enlargement of photoluminescence lifetimes from
184 to 1200 ns. The optimized synthetic route presented here is based
on a fine control over both the Ag core and the Ag/S ratio within
the NPs. Such control reduces the density of structural defects and
decreases the nonradiative pathways. In addition, we demonstrate that
the superior performance of the Ag2S NPs allows for high-contrast
in vivo bioimaging.
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