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Efficient Artificial Light-Harvesting System Based on Supramolecular Peptide Nanotubes in Water.

Qiao SongSofia GoiaJie YangStephen C L HallMichael StaniforthVasilios G StavrosSebastien Perrier
Published in: Journal of the American Chemical Society (2020)
Artificial light-harvesting systems in aqueous media which mimic nature are of significant importance; however, they are often restrained by the solubility and the undesired aggregation-caused quenching effect of the hydrophobic chromophores. Here, we report a generalized strategy toward the construction of efficient artificial light-harvesting systems based on supramolecular peptide nanotubes in water. By molecularly aligning the hydrophobic chromophores along the nanotubes in a slipped manner, an artificial light-harvesting system with a two-step sequential Förster resonance energy transfer process is successfully fabricated, showing an energy transfer efficiency up to 95% and a remarkably high fluorescence quantum yield of 30%, along with high stability. Furthermore, the spectral emission could be continuously tuned from blue through green to orange, as well as outputted as a white light continuum with a fluorescence quantum yield of 29.9%. Our findings provide a versatile approach of designing efficient artificial light-harvesting systems and constructing highly emissive organic materials in aqueous media.
Keyphrases
  • energy transfer
  • quantum dots
  • ionic liquid
  • computed tomography
  • molecular dynamics
  • water soluble