Self-assembly and optical properties of water-soluble porphyrin alternating CdSe nanoparticulate films

A new type of self-assembled film was prepared by alternating deposition of oppositely charged meso-tetra-(4-trimethylaminophenyl) porphyrin nickel iodide (NiTAPPI) and citrate-stabilized CdSe nanoparticles. The stepwise deposition process was monitored by means of UV-vis spectroscopy. The interaction between the porphyrin and CdSe nanoparticles was characterized with UV-vis and fluorescence spectra. The SEM images showed the formation of densely packed two-dimensional array and the conversion of disorder-to-order of CdSe nanoparticles on the quartz substrate modified by PDDA when depositing positively charged NiTAPPI. The self-assembled film placed in ambient air exhibited significant enhancement of fluorescence intensity. The effects of heat treatment and UV-light irradiating on fluorescence properties of the composite films were investigated in details.