2(3), 9(10), 16(17), 23(24)-tetrakis[(3-mercapto)propoxy] phthalocyaninate zinc (II)/gold nanoparticle conjugates: Synthesis and photophysical properties

Abstract

Novel stable zinc (II) thiol-phthalocyaninate gold nanoparticle nanoconjugates (PcS-AuNP) with a reproducible and homogeneous distribution size of 16 ± 4 nm were efficiently prepared by means of a ligand exchange reaction. The nanoconjugates were characterized by TEM, DLS, FT-IR and UV–vis. PcS-AuNP were a stable system at least for two months in darkness. Singlet molecular oxygen generation was observed when gold plasmon and phthalocyanine were independently excited at 510 nm and 610 nm, respectively. The PcS-AuNP system obtained is a photosensitive material in a wide range of the UV–vis spectrum (300–400 nm, 500–530 nm and 610–799 nm).