Spectroscopic studies on photoelectron transfer from 2-(furan-2-yl)-1-phenyl-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole to ZnO, Cu-doped ZnO and Ag-doped ZnO.

The 2-(furan-2-yl)-1-phenyl-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole [FPI] has been designed and synthesized as fluorescent sensor for nanoparticulate ZnO. The present work investigates the photoelectron transfer (PET) from FPI to ZnO, Cu-doped ZnO and Ag- doped ZnO nanoparticles using electronic and life time spectral measurements. Broad absorption along with red shift indicates the formation of charge-transfer complex [FPI-Nanoparticles]. The photophysical studies indicate lowering of HOMO and LUMO energy levels of FPI on adsorption on ZnO due to FPI- ZnO interaction. The obtained binding constant implies that the binding of FPI with nanoparticles was influenced by the surface modification of ZnO nanoparticles with Cu and Ag.