Visible Fluorescence Emission from Self-assembled Porphyrin Nanotubes

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the synthesis of porphyrin nanotubes that exhibit visible fluorescence emission, highlighting their potential for use in biofriendly medical and nanophotonics devices.

Contribution

First report of visible fluorescence emission from self-assembled porphyrin nanotubes, expanding their application scope in biofriendly technologies.

Findings

Porphyrin nanotubes show fluorescence at 669 nm upon excitation at 432 nm.

Parent porphyrin monomers do not fluoresce under similar conditions.

Nanotubes are approximately one micron in diameter with complex structures.

Abstract

Porphyrin nanotubes (PNTs) are prepared by self-assembly using meso-tetrakis (4-sulfonatophenyl) porphyrin and Fe(III) meso-Tetra (N-Methyl-4-Pyridyl) porphyrin in water as starting materials. Long tubes of about one micron diameter are formed with bunches of smaller tubes attached to it, as judged from the analysis of HRTEM images. The PNTs formed by this method are found to exhibit good visible emission at 669 nm on excitation at 432 nm whereas both parent porphyrin monomers do not exhibit any fluorescence. This result highlights the scope of PNTs as functional components in the design of biofriendly devices in medical as well as nanophotonics applications.