Chromophore-functionalized gold nanoparticles.

We report in this Account the design of chromophore-functionalized metal nanoparticles and the detailed investigation of the ground- and excited-state interactions between the metal nanoparticles and the photoactive molecules. The methodologies adopted for organizing chromophore-functionalized gold nanoparticles on two-dimensional surfaces and the mechanistic details of various deactivation channels of the photoexcited chromophores, such as energy and electron transfer to the metal nanoparticle, are presented. The possible applications of such chromophore-functionalized gold nanoparticles in photovoltaics, light-mediated binding and release of biologically important molecules such as amino acid derivatives, and fluorescent display devices are described.