Optical properties of gold particle-cluster core-satellite nanoassemblies

Abstract

Better understanding of core-satellite nanostructures is of great interest to researchers owing to their unusual properties and is key to their promising applications. The well-developed techniques based on protein-nanoparticle interactions were adopted to produce core-satellite nanoassemblies of similar to 10 nm core of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) covered by Au-25@BSA or Au-10@histidine nanoclusters (NCs). The photoexcited dynamics in the core-satellite nanoassemblies were studied using steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic measurements. Fluorescence quenching in AuNP-AuNCs core-satellite nanostructures was observed and confirmed as static quenching. The AuNPs alter neither radiative decay nor nonradiative decay in both nanoclusters. This indicates that the electron/energy transfer within the NP-NCs core-satellite nanoassemblies is absent, in contrast to the results involving other larger NP-NPs core-satellite nanoassemblies.