Molecular fluorescence significantly enhanced by gold nanoparticles@zeolitic imidazolate framework-8

Noble metal nanoparticles exhibit unique surface plasmon resonance dependent optical properties.On this basis,gold nanoparticles(AuNPs)encapsulated in metal–organic frameworks(MOFs)can form AuNPs@MOFs composites to modulate the optical properties of fluorescent molecules,which is less reported.In this paper,based on the fluorescence enhancement effect of AuNPs on 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-benzimidazole(HPBI)molecules,zeolitic imidazolate framework-8(ZIF-8)crystals with structural stability were introduced.AuNPs@ZIF-8 exhibited a significantly pronounced fluorescence enhancement of the HPBI molecules.In addition,by comparing the fluorescence characteristics of the HPBI molecules adsorbed on AuNPs@ZIF-8 and those captured in AuNPs@ZIF-8,we found that the ZIF-8 can act as a spacer layer with highly effective near-field enhancement.All our preliminary results shed light on future research on the composite structures of noble metal particles and MOFs for fluorescent probes and sensing applications.