Photochemical Synthesis of Silicon Nanoparticles

JUAN JOSE ROMERO; MARIA LAURA DELL'ARCIPRETE; MONICA C.GONZALEZ

Conferencia; 21st I-APS Conference; 2011

Interamerican Photochemical Society

Silicon nanoparticles (Si-NP) of 1 to 5 nm size show photoluminescence because of the quantum confinement effect. In consequence, the emission and excitation spectra and other photophysical properties will depend on the NP size and the chemical nature of its surface. The strong luminescence of Si-NP, their capacity for singlet oxygen (1O2) generation, and the richness of silicon surface chemistry suggest that Si NP would be useful in various biological applications as optical sensors and agents for cancer therapy1,2. Therefore, the search for facile, efficient, and low-cost synthetic routes is an important goal for silicon nanoparticles applications. In particular, the obtainment of Si-NP with the minor impurities is a fundamental requirement for future applications. The present work describes a first photochemical approach to satisfy this need.