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 (λmax= 905 nm,τ= 130 μs). This result demonstrates that this hybrid material has a potential application as a luminescent probe for bioimaging.