Silicon nanocrystals dispersed in water: Photosensitizers for molecular oxygen

We report on the synthesis of freestanding silicon spheres having sizes in the range of 3-10 nm. As-prepared luminescent silicon nanocrystals have H-passivated surface. Therefore, energy transfer from excitons confined in Si nanocrystals to oxygen molecules is found to be efficient. It is demonstrated that a termination of silicon nanocrystal H-passivated hydrophobic surface by lipids provides their water solubility. We found that this procedure preserves photosensitizing ability of silicon nanocrystals. Therefore, this material system can potentially be employed for a variety of biomedical applications.