Preparation, Photophysical, Electrochemical, and Sensing Properties of Luminescent Tetrazine-Doped Silica Nanoparticles

Luminescent hybrid silica nanoparticles grafted with tetrazines fluorophores have been synthesized and characterized, and their photophysical and electrochemical properties have been studied in acetonitrile solutions. The photophysical behavior of the functionalized nanoparticles shows a bright fluorescence emission, with emission and excitation bands typical of chloroalkoxytetrazines fluorophores, albeit with some degree of quenching because of interchromophoric interactions. Their fluorescence emission properties have been studied in the presence of various low molecular weight amines. Extinction of the fluorescence of the nanoparticles because of photoinduced electron transfer between the photoexcited tetrazine and the amine is observed, making these functionalized nanoparticles potentially useful for amine sensing.