Facile preparation and processing of aqueous dispersions of tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium(III) photoluminescent nanoparticles

In this paper we present a facile method for the novel production of surfactant-stabilized aqueous dispersions of tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium(III) (Alq3) nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are spherical, less than 10 nm in mean diameter, and highly fluorescent. We demonstrate the potential scope of these water-based colloids in sol-gel and electrospinning processes by fabricating photoluminescent silica glasses and polymer nanowires, respectively. Furthermore, we show that the Alq3 nanoparticles are effective imaging agents for electroporated or thin-sectioned MCF-7 cells. The development of aqueous-based approaches to stable sols of Alq3 nanoparticles offers significant scope for the future use and application of this technologically important emissive material.