1
|
Wang K, Cline RP, Schwan J, Strain JM, Roberts ST, Mangolini L, Eaves JD, Tang ML. Efficient photon upconversion enabled by strong coupling between silicon quantum dots and anthracene. Nat Chem 2023:10.1038/s41557-023-01225-x. [PMID: 37308710 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-023-01225-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Hybrid structures formed between organic molecules and inorganic quantum dots can accomplish unique photophysical transformations by taking advantage of their disparate properties. The electronic coupling between these materials is typically weak, leading photoexcited charge carriers to spatially localize to the dot or to a molecule at its surface. However, we show that by converting a chemical linker that covalently binds anthracene molecules to silicon quantum dots from a carbon-carbon single bond to a double bond, we access a strong coupling regime where excited carriers spatially delocalize across both anthracene and silicon. By pushing the system to delocalize, we design a photon upconversion system with a higher efficiency (17.2%) and lower threshold intensity (0.5 W cm-2) than that of a corresponding weakly coupled system. Our results show that strong coupling between molecules and nanostructures achieved through targeted linking chemistry provides a complementary route for tailoring properties in materials for light-driven applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kefu Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - R Peyton Cline
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Joseph Schwan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Jacob M Strain
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Sean T Roberts
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Lorenzo Mangolini
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
| | - Joel D Eaves
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
| | - Ming Lee Tang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Su P, Ran G, Wang H, Yue J, Kong Q, Bo Z, Zhang W. Intramolecular and Intermolecular Interaction Switching in the Aggregates of Perylene Diimide Trimer: Effect of Hydrophobicity. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28073003. [PMID: 37049767 PMCID: PMC10095916 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28073003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The research on perylene diimide (PDI) aggregates effectively promotes their applications in organic photovoltaic solar cells and fluorescent sensors. In this paper, a PDI fabricated with three peripheral PDI units (N, N’-bis(6-undecyl) perylene-3,4,9,10-bis(dicarboximide)) is investigated. The trimer shows different absorption and fluorescence properties due to hydrophobicity when dissolved in the mixed solvent of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and water. Through comprehensive analysis of the fluorescence lifetime and transient absorption spectroscopic results, we concluded that the trimer underwent different excited state kinetic pathways with different concentrations of water in THF. When dissolved in pure THF solvent, both the intramolecular charge-transfer and excimer states are formed. When the water concentration increases from 0 to 50% (v/v), the formation time of the excimer state and its structural relaxation time are prolonged, illustrating the arising of the intermolecular excimer state. It is interesting to determine that the probability of the intramolecular charge-transfer pathway will first decrease and then increase as the speed of intermolecular excimer formation slows down. The two inflection points appear when the water concentration is above 10% and 40%. The results not only highlight the importance of hydrophobicity on the aggregate properties of PDI multimers but also guide the further design of PDI-based organic photovoltaic solar cells.
Collapse
|
3
|
Chen Y. Recent Advances in Excimer-Based Fluorescence Probes for Biological Applications. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27238628. [PMID: 36500722 PMCID: PMC9741103 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27238628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The fluorescent probe is a powerful tool for biological sensing and optical imaging, which can directly display analytes at the molecular level. It provides not only direct visualization of biological structures and processes, but also the capability of drug delivery systems regarding the target therapy. Conventional fluorescent probes are mainly based on monomer emission which has two distinguishing shortcomings in practice: small Stokes shifts and short lifetimes. Compared with monomer-based emission, excimer-based fluorescent probes have large Stokes shifts and long lifetimes which benefit biological applications. Recent progress in excimer-based fluorescent sensors (organic small molecules only) for biological applications are highlighted in this review, including materials and mechanisms as well as their representative applications. The progress suggests that excimer-based fluorescent probes have advantages and potential for bioanalytical applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Chen
- Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic Materials, TIPC, CAS, Beijing 100190, China;
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Brett MW, Gordon CK, Hardy J, Davis NJLK. The Rise and Future of Discrete Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Nanomaterials. ACS PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY AU 2022; 2:364-387. [PMID: 36855686 PMCID: PMC9955269 DOI: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.2c00018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Hybrid nanomaterials (HNs), the combination of organic semiconductor ligands attached to nanocrystal semiconductor quantum dots, have applications that span a range of practical fields, including biology, chemistry, medical imaging, and optoelectronics. Specifically, HNs operate as discrete, tunable systems that can perform prompt fluorescence, energy transfer, singlet fission, upconversion, and/or thermally activated delayed fluorescence. Interest in HNs has naturally grown over the years due to their tunability and broad spectrum of applications. This Review presents a brief introduction to the components of HNs, before expanding on the characterization and applications of HNs. Finally, the future of HN applications is discussed.
Collapse
|
5
|
Pandya R, Chen RYS, Gu Q, Gorman J, Auras F, Sung J, Friend R, Kukura P, Schnedermann C, Rao A. Femtosecond Transient Absorption Microscopy of Singlet Exciton Motion in Side-Chain Engineered Perylene-Diimide Thin Films. J Phys Chem A 2020; 124:2721-2730. [PMID: 32130861 PMCID: PMC7132576 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.0c00346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
We present a statistical analysis of femtosecond transient absorption microscopy applied to four different organic semiconductor thin films based on perylene-diimide (PDI). By achieving a temporal resolution of 12 fs with simultaneous sub-10 nm spatial precision, we directly probe the underlying exciton transport characteristics within 3 ps after photoexcitation free of model assumptions. Our study reveals sub-picosecond coherent exciton transport (12-45 cm2 s-1) followed by a diffusive phase of exciton transport (3-17 cm2 s-1). A comparison between the different films suggests that the exciton transport in the studied materials is intricately linked to their nanoscale morphology, with PDI films that form large crystalline domains exhibiting the largest diffusion coefficients and transport lengths. Our study demonstrates the advantages of directly studying ultrafast transport properties at the nanometer length scale and highlights the need to examine nanoscale morphology when investigating exciton transport in organic as well as inorganic semiconductors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raj Pandya
- Department
of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Richard Y. S. Chen
- Department
of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Qifei Gu
- Department
of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Jeffrey Gorman
- Department
of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Florian Auras
- Department
of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Jooyoung Sung
- Department
of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Richard Friend
- Department
of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Philipp Kukura
- Physical
and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford
University, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K.
| | - Christoph Schnedermann
- Department
of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Akshay Rao
- Department
of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University
of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Kang S, Kaufmann C, Hong Y, Kim W, Nowak-Król A, Würthner F, Kim D. Ultrafast coherent exciton dynamics in size-controlled perylene bisimide aggregates. STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS (MELVILLE, N.Y.) 2019; 6:064501. [PMID: 31803792 PMCID: PMC6887513 DOI: 10.1063/1.5124148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
For H-aggregates of perylene bisimide (PBI), it has been reported that upon photoexcitation, an initially delocalized Frenkel exciton is localized by excimer formation. However, in recent studies, the beforehand exciton dynamics preceding the excimer formation was suggested in larger aggregates consisting of at least more than 10-PBI subunits, which was not observed in small aggregates comprising less than four-PBI subunits. This feature implies that the size of molecular aggregates plays a crucial role in the initial exciton dynamics. In this regard, we have tried to unveil the initial exciton dynamics in PBI H-aggregates by tracking down the transient reorientations of electronic transition dipoles formed by interactions between the PBI subunits in systematically size-controlled PBI H-aggregates. The ultrafast coherent exciton dynamics depending on the molecular aggregate sizes can be distinguished using polarization-dependent femtosecond-transient absorption anisotropy spectroscopic measurements with a time resolution of ∼40 fs. The ultrafast decay profiles of the anisotropy values are unaffected by vibrational relaxation and rotational diffusion processes; hence, the coherent exciton dynamics of the PBI H-aggregates prior to the excimer formation can be directly revealed as the energy migration processes along the PBI H-aggregates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seongsoo Kang
- Spectroscopy Laboratory for Functional π-Electronic Systems and Department of Chemistry, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, South Korea
| | - Christina Kaufmann
- Institut für Organische Chemie and Center for Nanosystems Chemistry, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Yongseok Hong
- Spectroscopy Laboratory for Functional π-Electronic Systems and Department of Chemistry, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, South Korea
| | - Woojae Kim
- Spectroscopy Laboratory for Functional π-Electronic Systems and Department of Chemistry, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, South Korea
| | - Agnieszka Nowak-Król
- Institut für Organische Chemie and Center for Nanosystems Chemistry, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Frank Würthner
- Institut für Organische Chemie and Center for Nanosystems Chemistry, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Dongho Kim
- Spectroscopy Laboratory for Functional π-Electronic Systems and Department of Chemistry, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Price MB, Paton A, Gorman J, Wagner I, Laufersky G, Chen K, Friend RH, Schmidt TW, Hodgkiss JM, Davis NJLK. Inter-ligand energy transfer in dye chromophores attached to high bandgap SiO 2 nanoparticles. Chem Commun (Camb) 2019; 55:8804-8807. [PMID: 31089614 DOI: 10.1039/c9cc03412a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Artificial light harvesters require ordered arrangement of chromophores. We covalently attach three organic chromophore ligands to silicon dioxide nanoparticles. This allows us to study inter-ligand energy transfer when attached to SiO2 nanoparticles, creating a simple system with a large ratio of donors to acceptors. Using steady-state and transient spectroscopy measurements we quantify this energy transfer between ligands. We show a maximum transfer efficiency of 30% and measure the 2D diffusion length of anthracene carboxylic acid on SiO2 to be between 0.6 and 2.2 nm.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael B Price
- School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Yu Y, Chien SC, Sun J, Hettiaratchy EC, Myers RC, Lin LC, Wu Y. Excimer-Mediated Intermolecular Charge Transfer in Self-Assembled Donor-Acceptor Dyes on Metal Oxides. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:8727-8731. [PMID: 31095391 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b03729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
When conjugate molecules are self-assembled on the surface of semiconductors, emergent properties resulting from the electronic coupling between the conjugate moieties are of importance in the interfacial electron-transfer dynamics for photoelectrochemical and optoelectronics devices. In this work, we investigate the self-assembly of triphenylamine-oligothiophene-perylenemonoimide (PMI) molecules, denoted as BH4, on metal oxide surfaces via UV-vis absorption, photoluminescence, and transient near-infrared absorption spectroscopies and molecular dynamics simulations, and we report the excimer formation due to the π-π interaction of the PMI units between the neighboring dye molecules. To our best knowledge, this is the first experimental observation of intermolecular excimer formation when conjugate donor-acceptor molecules form a self-assembled monolayer. In addition, a long-lived (4.3 μs) intermolecular charge separation is observed, and a new excimer-mediated intermolecular charger-transfer mechanism is proposed. This work demonstrates that, through the design of dye molecules, the excited complexes or aggregates can provide a pathway to slow down the recombination rate in photoelectrodes that utilize donor-acceptor dyad molecules.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yongze Yu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , The Ohio State University , Columbus , Ohio 43210 , United States
| | - Szu-Chia Chien
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering , The Ohio State University , Columbus , Ohio 43210 , United States
| | - Jiaonan Sun
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , The Ohio State University , Columbus , Ohio 43210 , United States
| | - Elline C Hettiaratchy
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering , The Ohio State University , Columbus , Ohio 43210 , United States
| | - Roberto C Myers
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering , The Ohio State University , Columbus , Ohio 43210 , United States
| | - Li-Chiang Lin
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , The Ohio State University , Columbus , Ohio 43210 , United States
| | - Yiying Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , The Ohio State University , Columbus , Ohio 43210 , United States
| |
Collapse
|