Photoluminenscence blinking dynamics of colloidal quantum dots in the presence of controlled external electron traps

Delayed Photoluminescence and Modified Blinking Statistics in Alumina-Encapsulated Zero-Dimensional Inorganic Perovskite Nanocrystals

We demonstrate enhancement of the photoluminescence (PL) properties of individual zero-dimensional (0D) Cs₄PbBr₆ perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) upon encapsulation by alumina using an appropriately modified atomic layer deposition method. In addition to the increased PL intensity and improved long-term stability of encapsulated PNCs, our single-particle studies reveal substantial changes in the PL blinking statistics and the persistent appearance of the long-lived, "delayed" PL components. The blinking patterns exhibit a modification from the fast switching between fluorescent ON and OFF states found in bare PNCs to a behavior with longer ON states and more isolated OFF states in alumina-encapsulated PNCs. Controlled exposure of 0D nanocrystals to moisture suggests that the observed PL lifetime changes may be related to water-induced "reservoir" states that allow for longer-lived charge storage with subsequent back-feeding into the emissive states. Viable encapsulation of PNCs with metal oxides that can preserve and even enhance their PL properties can be utilized in the fabrication of extended structures on their basis for optoelectronic and photonic applications.

Nanoscale Photoinduced Charge Transfer with Individual Quantum Dots: Tunability through Synthesis, Interface Design, and Interaction with Charge Traps

Semiconducting colloidal quantum dots (QDs) provide an excellent platform for nanoscale charge-transfer studies. Because of their size-dependent optoelectronic properties, which can be tuned via chemical synthesis and of their versatility in surface ligand exchange, QDs can be coupled with various types of acceptors to create hybrids with controlled type (electron or hole), direction, and rate of charge flow, depending on the foreseen application, either solar harvesting, light emitting, or biosensing. This perspective highlights several examples of QD-based hybrids with controllable (tunable) rate of charge transfer obtained by various approaches, including by changing the QD core size and shell thickness by colloidal synthesis, by the insertion of molecular linkers or dielectric spacers between donor and acceptor components. We also show that subjecting QDs to external factors such as electric fields and alternate optical excitation energy is another approach to bias the internal charge transfer between charges photogenerated in the QD core and QD's surface charge traps. The perspective also provides the reader with various examples of how single nanoparticle spectroscopic studies can help in understanding and quantifying nanoscale charge transfer with QDs.

Assembly of graphene nanoflake-quantum dot hybrids in aqueous solution and their performance in light-harvesting applications

Graphene nanoflakes and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots were covalently linked in environmentally friendly aqueous solution. Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence studies, both in solution and on surfaces at the single nanohybrid level, showed evidence of charge transfer between the two nanostructures. The nanohybrids were further incorporated into solar cell devices, demonstrating their potential as light harvesting assemblies.

Hot excitons are responsible for increasing photoluminescence blinking activity in single lead sulfide/cadmium sulfide nanocrystals

The kinetics of PL blinking for isolated PbS/CdS nanocrystals changes with the photon excitation energy, with PL blinking increasing in frequency and changing from a two-state to a multistate on/off switching when the excitation energy changes from 1S_h–1S_e (≈1.4 eV) to 1P_h–1P_e (≈2.4 eV).

Biexciton and trion energy transfer from CdSe/CdS giant nanocrystals to Si substrates

Observation of energy transfer (ET) from multiexcitonic (MX) complexes in nanocrystal quantum dots (NQDs) has been severely restricted due to efficient nonradiative Auger recombination leading to very low MX emission quantum yields. Here we employed "giant" CdSe/CdS NQDs with suppressed Auger recombination to study ET of biexcitons (BX) and charged excitons (trions) into Si substrate. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements of (sub)monolayers of gNQDs controllably assembled on various interacting surfaces and augmented by single gNQD's imaging reveal appearance of BX spectral signatures and progressive acceleration of PL lifetimes of all excitonic species on Si substrates. From statistical analysis of a large number of PL lifetime traces, representative exciton, trion and BX ET efficiencies are measured as ∼75%, 55% and 45% respectively. Detailed analysis of the MX's radiative rates demonstrate the crucial role of the radiative (waveguide) ET in maintaining high overall transfer efficiency despite the prevalent Auger recombination. Our observations point towards practical utilization of MX-bearing nanocrystals in future optoelectronics architectures.

Electron transfer dynamics from single near infrared emitting lead sulfide-cadmium sulfide nanocrystals to titanium dioxide

In this study we report the first successful demonstration of electron transfer between single near infrared emitting PbS/CdS nanocrystals and an external acceptor, titanium dioxide (TiO₂). We demonstrate distance-dependent electron transfer from single nanocrystals to TiO₂ and explore the effect of this process on the photoluminescence dynamics of these nanocrystals. Isolated PbS/CdS QDs are found to exhibit blinking dynamics similar to other nanocrystals like CdSe/ZnS; however, their photoluminescence follows a quasi two-state pattern with heterogeneous photoluminescence lifetimes which may be the result of their emission originating from different energy states. Electron transfer of these nanocrystals with an external acceptor inhibits their photoluminescence lifetime heterogeneity and biases their blinking dynamics in a manner similar to that observed for visible emitting CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals undergoing electron transfer with external acceptors. While the present study reconfirms the universality of quantum dot blinking among various types of nanocrystals, it also demonstrates that universality remains valid for the communication of various types of nanocrystals with the exterior world, here pictured as electron transfer with external acceptors.

Carbon Nanotube-Quantum Dot Nanohybrids: Coupling with Single-Particle Control in Aqueous Solution

A strategy is reported for the controlled assembly of organic-inorganic heterostructures consisting of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) selectively coupled to single semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). The assembly in aqueous solution was controlled towards the formation of monofunctionalized SWCNT-QD structures. Photoluminescence studies in solution, and on surfaces at the single nanohybrid level, showed evidence of electronic coupling between the two nanostructures. The ability to covalently couple heterostructures with single particle control is crucial for the design of novel QD-based optoelectronic and light-energy conversion devices.

Nonradiative Energy Transfer from Individual CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots to Single-Layer and Few-Layer Tin Disulfide

The combination of zero-dimensional (0D) colloidal CdSe/ZnS quantum dots with tin disulfide (SnS2), a two-dimensional (2D)-layered metal dichalcogenide, results in 0D-2D hybrids with enhanced light absorption properties. These 0D-2D hybrids, when exposed to light, exhibit intrahybrid nonradiative energy transfer from photoexcited CdSe/ZnS quantum dots to SnS2. Using single nanocrystal spectroscopy, we find that the rate for energy transfer in 0D-2D hybrids increases with added number of SnS2 layers, a positive manifestation toward the potential functionality of such 2D-based hybrids in applications such as photovoltaics and photon sensing.

Charge trapping and de-trapping in isolated CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals under an external electric field: indirect evidence for a permanent dipole moment

Single nanoparticle studies of charge trapping and de-trapping in core/shell CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals incorporated into an insulating matrix and subjected to an external electric field demonstrate the ability to reversibly modulate the exciton dynamics and photoluminescence blinking while providing indirect evidence for the existence of a permanent ground state dipole moment in such nanocrystals. A model assuming the presence of energetically deep charge traps physically aligned along the direction of the permanent dipole is proposed in order to explain the dynamics of nanocrystal blinking in the presence of a permanent dipole moment.

Fast super-resolution imaging with ultra-high labeling density achieved by joint tagging super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging

Previous stochastic localization-based super-resolution techniques are largely limited by the labeling density and the fidelity to the morphology of specimen. We report on an optical super-resolution imaging scheme implementing joint tagging using multiple fluorescent blinking dyes associated with super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging (JT-SOFI), achieving ultra-high labeling density super-resolution imaging. To demonstrate the feasibility of JT-SOFI, quantum dots with different emission spectra were jointly labeled to the tubulin in COS7 cells, creating ultra-high density labeling. After analyzing and combining the fluorescence intermittency images emanating from spectrally resolved quantum dots, the microtubule networks are capable of being investigated with high fidelity and remarkably enhanced contrast at sub-diffraction resolution. The spectral separation also significantly decreased the frame number required for SOFI, enabling fast super-resolution microscopy through simultaneous data acquisition. As the joint-tagging scheme can decrease the labeling density in each spectral channel, thereby bring it closer to single-molecule state, we can faithfully reconstruct the continuous microtubule structure with high resolution through collection of only 100 frames per channel. The improved continuity of the microtubule structure is quantitatively validated with image skeletonization, thus demonstrating the advantage of JT-SOFI over other localization-based super-resolution methods.

CORE-SIZE DEPENDENT PHOTOLUMINESCENCE BLINKING OF ISOLATED QUANTUM DOT-FULLERENE HYBRIDS

We demonstrate the possibility to bias the photoluminescence blinking of isolated colloidal quantum dots coupled to fullerenes by varying the quantum dot core size. Changing the core size affects the energy offset between the donor and acceptor and directly affects the driving force for electron transfer between the two moieties. Single particle photoluminescence measurements reveal dramatic reduction in the on-time associated with the photoluminescence blinking in quantum dot-fullerene hybrids when the quantum dot core size decreases, a manifestation associated with enhanced electron transfer.

[Formula: see text]Special Issue Comment: This project is about the blink properties of QDs in the presence of electron acceptor moieties and it connects with two articles from this Special Issue involving treatments when solving single molecules.1,2

Shell thickness dependent photoinduced hole transfer in hybrid conjugated polymer/quantum dot nanocomposites: from ensemble to single hybrid level

Photoinduced hole transfer is investigated in inorganic/organic hybrid nanocomposites of colloidal CdSe/ZnS quantum dots and a cationic conjugated polymer, poly(9,9'-bis(6-N,N,N-trimethylammoniumhexyl)fluorene-alt-phenylene, in solution and in solid thin film, and down to the single hybrid level and is assessed to be a dynamic quenching process. We demonstrate control of hole transfer rate in these quantum dot/conjugated polymer hybrids by using a series of core/shell quantum dots with varying shell thickness, for which a clear exponential dependency of the hole transfer rate vs shell thickness is observed, for both solution and thin-film situations. Furthermore, we observe an increase of hole-transfer rate from solution to film and correlate this with changes in quantum dot/polymer interfacial morphology affecting the hole transfer rate, namely, the donor-acceptor distance. Single particle spectroscopy experiments reveal fluctuating dynamics of hole transfer at the single conjugated polymer/quantum dot interface and an increased heterogeneity in the hole-transfer rate with the increase of the quantum dot's shell thickness. Although hole transfer quenches the photoluminescence intensity of quantum dots, it causes little or no effect on their blinking behavior over the time scales probed here.