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Description

Upconversion is the process of converting multiple low energy photons into one high energy photon capable of driving important chemical reactions. It carries promising potential for applications including photocatalysis, bioimaging, and therapeutic technologies. The light emitted from solid state upconverting thin films, however, is too dim for many applications. This is because the solid matrix prevents diffusion of donor and acceptor molecules and thus slows the multiple intermolecular energy transfer steps required for upconversion. In order to increase this emission, we are integrating molecules known to undergo upconversion into plasmonic nanocavities which produce extreme electric fields. We build these molecules into either molecular organic frameworks (MOFs) or supramolecular assemblies to control the relative orientations of the donor and acceptor molecules. We hypothesize that orienting the donor molecules (porphyrin derivatives) and acceptor molecules (anthracene derivatives) parallel to the electric field direction in the cavities will cause the field to promote intermolecular energy transfer. In this presentation, we will report on progress in synthesis of colloidal nanocubes, synthesis of donor and acceptor molecules, and exfoliation of 3D MOFs into 2D MOFs suitable for nanocavity integration. The creation of these samples will allow us to measure emission brightness and kinetics for various molecular orientations to determine how the electric fields affect energy transfer rates and yields.

Publication Date

4-1-2025

Keywords

upconversion, photon conversion, plasmonic nanocavities, molecular orientation, photocatalysis, bioimaging, therapeutic technologies, donor-acceptor energy transfer, porphyrin derivatives, anthracene derivatives, molecular organic frameworks, MOFs, supramolecular assemblies, electric fields, emission brightness, nanocube synthesis, 2D MOFs, energy transfer kinetics, nanophotonics, light-matter interaction

Upconversion Enhancement by Plasmonic Nanocavities

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