Light-harvesting dendrimer zinc-phthalocyanines chromophores labeled single-wall carbon nanotube nanoensembles: Synthesis and photoinduced electron transfer

A novel series of light-harvesting dendrimer zinc-phthalocyanines chromophores labeled-single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) nanoparticles, in which 0–2 generations dendrimer zinc phthalocyanines covalently linked with SWNTs using either ethylenediamine or hexamethylenediamine as the space linkers were prepared. The structures and morphologies of these nanoconjugates were comprehensively characterized by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis methods. Their photophysical properties were investigated by fluorescence and time-resolved spectroscopic methods. The photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer occurred from phthalocyanines (donors) to SWNTs (acceptors). Besides, the electron transfer exchange rates and exchange efficacies between the dendritic phthalocyanines and single-wall carbon nanotubes increased as the length of spacer linker decreased, or as the dendritic generation increased. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) method further confirmed thermodynamics possibility of the electron transfer from phthalocyanines to single-wall carbon nanotubes. These new nanoconjugates are fundamentally important due to the synergy effects of both carbon nanotubes and dendrimer phthalocyanines, which may find potential applications in the fields of drug delivery, biological labeling, or others.