Table 2.
Photophysical features of selected nanomaterials§.
| Excitation range [nm] | ε [M−1cm−1] | Γ [%] | Fluorescence lifetime | Time-gating | Blinking | Photostability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantum dots | 700–1,300 | 105-106 | 10–90 | 20 ns−5 μs | Yes | Yes | High |
| Polymer dots | 500–800 | 106-107 | 10–50 | ≤1 ns | No | No | Medium |
| Nanodiamonds (NV)* | 520–580 | 106 | 70–80 | 10–30 ns | Yes* | No | Very high |
| Organic dyes | 600–800 | 104-105 | 10–50 | <1–6 ns | No | Yes | Low |
| Carbon dots | 500–650 | 104-105 | 1–10 | ≤10 ns | No | No | Medium |
| Gold clusters | 500–650 | 104-105 | <1–3 | 3–800 ns | Yes | Yes | Medium |
| Carbon nanotubes** | 700–1,300 | 107 | <<1–7 | ≤1 ns | No | No | High |
| Graphene oxide | 400–650 | 104 | <1–5 | ≤1 ns | No | Yes | Medium |
| UCNPs | 980 | 103-104 | <1–7 | >100 μs | Yes | No | High |
§
Adapted from Reineck and Gibson (2016) with permission. Copyrights 2017 John Wiley. ε, the molar absorption coefficient; Γ, the fluorescence quantum yield; UCNPs, upconversion nanoparticles.
*
Many nanodiamonds's lifetimes are not long enough for time-gating, except for the one that is of >60 nm in diameter (Hui et al., 2014).
**
Absorption coefficient is proportional to nanotube length. The value is based on a length of 200 nm.