DNA Directed Self-Assembly of Fluorescent Colloidal Semiconductor Quantum Dots and Plasmonic Metal Nanoparticles Heterogeneous Nanomaterials

The exciton-plasmon interaction between fluorescent colloidal semiconductor quantum dots and plasmonic metal nanoparticles may lead to emission quenching or enhancement of quantum dots, which have potential appli- cations in renewable energy, nanophotonics, and biosensing. Semiconductor quantum dots and metal nanoparticles hybrids with controlled geometry, distance, and stoichiometry are crucial for the potential applications. While DNA nanotechnology, based on Watson-Crick base-pairing interactions between two single-stranded DNAs, has provided unique opportunities to generate fully programmable, functional metal nanoparticles and semiconductor quantum dots hybrid nanomaterials, and offers precisely control over the spacing, orientation, and chirality of the compo- nents. This review provides the highlights of the recent progresses in DNA directed self-assembly of colloidal sem- iconductor quantum dots and metallic nanoparticles heterogeneous nanomaterials. We also discuss the challenges and the trends in DNA directed self-assembly of semiconductor quantum dots and metallic nanoparticles hybrid nanomaterials.