Circular dichroism spectroscopy of complexes of semiconductor quantum dots with chlorin e6

Experimental investigation of circular dichroism (CD) spectra of complexes based on ZnS:Mn/ZnS and CdSe/ZnS QDs and chlorin e6 (Ce6) molecules in aqua solutions at different pH level, in methanol and in DMSO were carried out. The changes in CD spectra of Ce6 upon its bonding in complex with semiconductor QDs were analyzed. Application of CD spectroscopy allowed to obtain the CD spectrum of luminescent Ce6 dimer for the first time, and to discover a nonluminescent Ce6 aggregate, preliminary identified as a "tetramer", dissymmetry factor of which is 40 times larger than that for its monomer. The analysis of obtained data showed that in complexes with QDs Ce6 can be either in the monomeric form or in the form of non-luminescent tetramer. The interaction of relatively unstable luminescent Ce6 dimerwith QDs leads to its partial monomerization and formation complexes with chlorin e6 in monomeric form.