Synthesis and photophysical studies of CdTe quantum dot-monosubstituted zinc phthalocyanine conjugates

The linkage of unsymmetrically monosubstituted 4-aminophenoxy zinc phthalocyanine (ZnAPPc, 5) to CdTe quantum dots capped with mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), l-cysteine (l-cys) or thioglycolic acid (TGA) has been achieved using the coupling agents ethyl-N(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide and N-hydroxy succinimide, which facilitate formation of an amide bond to form the QD–ZnAPPc-linked conjugate. The formation of the amide bond was confirmed using Raman and IR spectroscopies. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV–Vis spectroscopy were used further to characterise the conjugate. Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) resulted in stimulated emission of ZnAPPc in both the linked (QD–ZnAPPc-linked) and mixed (QD:ZnAPPc-mixed) conjugates. The linked l-cys and TGA QDs conjugates (QD–ZnAPPc-linked) gave the largest FRET efficiencies hence showing the advantages of covalent linking. Fluorescence quantum yields of QDs were decreased in QD:ZnAPPc-mixed and QD:ZnAPPc-linked.