Light-harvesting antennae based on photoactive silicon nanocrystals functionalized with porphyrin chromophores

Silicon nanocrystals functionalized with tetraphenylporphyrin Zn(II) chromophores at the periphery perform as light harvesting antennae: excitation of the porphyrin units in the visible spectral region yields sensitized emission of the silicon nanocrystal core in the near infrared with a long lifetime (lambda(max) = 905 nm, tau = 130 mu s). This result demonstrates that this hybrid material has a potential application as a luminescent probe for bioimaging.