Fullerene-functionalized gold nanoparticles. A self-assembled photoactive antenna-metal nanocore assembly

A self-assembled photoactive antenna system containing a gold nanoparticle as the central nanocore and appended fullerene moieties as the photoreceptive hydrophobic shell is designed by functionalizing a gold nanoparticle with a thiol derivative of fullerene. Upon suspension of fullerene-functionalized gold nanoparticles (Au-S-C-60) in toluene we observe formation of 5-30 nm diameter clusters. The ease of suspending these nanoassemblies in organic solvents allows us to probe the excited state interactions by spectroscopic methods. The quenching of fluorescence emission as well as decreased yields of triplet excited state suggest the participation of excited singlet in the energy transfer to the gold nanocore. Application of electrophoretically deposited Au-S-C-60 nanoassemblies on optically transparent electrodes in the photoelectrochemical conversion of light energy has been demonstrated.