Foerster A, Besley NA. Quantum Chemical Characterization and Design of Quantum Dots for Sensing Applications.
J Phys Chem A 2022;
126:2899-2908. [PMID:
35502789 PMCID:
PMC9125561 DOI:
10.1021/acs.jpca.2c00947]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
![]()
The ability to tune
the optoelectronic properties of quantum dots
(QDs) makes them ideally suited for the use as fluorescence sensing
probes. The vast structural diversity in terms of the composition
and size of QDs can make designing a QD for a specific sensing application
a challenging process. Quantum chemical calculations have the potential
to aid this process through the characterization of the properties
of QDs, leading to their in silico design. This is
explored in the context of QDs for the fluorescence sensing of dopamine
based upon density functional theory and time-dependent density functional
theory (TDDFT) calculations. The excited states of hydrogenated carbon,
silicon, and germanium QDs are characterized through TDDFT calculations.
Analysis of the molecular orbital diagrams for the isolated molecules
and calculations of the excited states of the dopamine-functionalized
quantum dots establish the possibility of a photoinduced electron-transfer
process by determining the relative energies of the electronic states
formed from a local excitation on the QD and the lowest QD →
dopamine electron-transfer state. The results suggest that the Si165H100 and Ge84H64 QDs have
the potential to act as fluorescent markers that could distinguish
between the oxidized and reduced forms of dopamine, where the fluorescence
would be quenched for the oxidized form. The work contributes to a
better understanding of the optical and electronic behavior of QD-based
sensors and illustrates how quantum chemical calculations can be used
to inform the design of QDs for specific fluorescent sensing applications.
Collapse