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Drummer MC, Singh V, Gupta N, Gesiorski JL, Weerasooriya RB, Glusac KD. Photophysics of nanographenes: from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to graphene nanoribbons. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2022; 151:163-184. [PMID: 33963981 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-021-00838-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and nanoribbons (GNRs) are classes of nanographene molecules that exhibit highly tunable photophysical properties. There have been great strides in recent years to advance our understanding of nanographene photophysics and develop their use in light-harvesting systems, such as artificial photosynthesis. Here, we review the latest studies of GQDs and GNRs which have shed new light onto their photophysical underpinnings through computational and advanced spectroscopic techniques. We discuss how the size, symmetry, and shape of nanographenes influence their molecular orbital structures and, consequentially, their spectroscopic signatures. The scope of this review is to comprehensively lay out the general photophysics of nanographenes starting with benzene and building up to larger polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, GQDs, and GNRs. We also explore a collection of publications from recent years that build upon the current understanding of nanographene photophysics and their potential application in light-driven processes from display, lasing, and sensing technology to photocatalytic water splitting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew C Drummer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Varun Singh
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Nikita Gupta
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Jonathan L Gesiorski
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Ravindra B Weerasooriya
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Ksenija D Glusac
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA.
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA.
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Hedley GJ, Schröder T, Steiner F, Eder T, Hofmann FJ, Bange S, Laux D, Höger S, Tinnefeld P, Lupton JM, Vogelsang J. Picosecond time-resolved photon antibunching measures nanoscale exciton motion and the true number of chromophores. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1327. [PMID: 33637741 PMCID: PMC7910429 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21474-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The particle-like nature of light becomes evident in the photon statistics of fluorescence from single quantum systems as photon antibunching. In multichromophoric systems, exciton diffusion and subsequent annihilation occurs. These processes also yield photon antibunching but cannot be interpreted reliably. Here we develop picosecond time-resolved antibunching to identify and decode such processes. We use this method to measure the true number of chromophores on well-defined multichromophoric DNA-origami structures, and precisely determine the distance-dependent rates of annihilation between excitons. Further, this allows us to measure exciton diffusion in mesoscopic H- and J-type conjugated-polymer aggregates. We distinguish between one-dimensional intra-chain and three-dimensional inter-chain exciton diffusion at different times after excitation and determine the disorder-dependent diffusion lengths. Our method provides a powerful lens through which excitons can be studied at the single-particle level, enabling the rational design of improved excitonic probes such as ultra-bright fluorescent nanoparticles and materials for optoelectronic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tim Schröder
- Department Chemie and Center for NanoScience (CeNS), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Florian Steiner
- Department Chemie and Center for NanoScience (CeNS), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Theresa Eder
- Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik and Regensburg Center for Ultrafast Nanoscopy (RUN), Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Felix J Hofmann
- Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik and Regensburg Center for Ultrafast Nanoscopy (RUN), Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Bange
- Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik and Regensburg Center for Ultrafast Nanoscopy (RUN), Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Dirk Laux
- Kekulé-Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Sigurd Höger
- Kekulé-Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Philip Tinnefeld
- Department Chemie and Center for NanoScience (CeNS), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - John M Lupton
- Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik and Regensburg Center for Ultrafast Nanoscopy (RUN), Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jan Vogelsang
- Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik and Regensburg Center for Ultrafast Nanoscopy (RUN), Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
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Properties of Bilayer Graphene Quantum Dots for Integrated Optics: An Ab Initio Study. PHOTONICS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/photonics7030078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Due to their bandgap engineering capabilities for optoelectronics applications, the study of nano-graphene has been a topic of interest to researchers in recent years. Using a first-principles study based on density functional theory (DFT) and thermal DFT, we investigated the electronic structures and optical properties of bilayer graphene quantum dots (GQDs). The dielectric tensors, absorption spectra, and the refractive indexes of the bilayer GQDs were obtained for both in-plane and out-of-plane polarization. In addition, we calculated the absorption spectra via time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) in the linear response regime. The TDDFT results show that a blue shift occurs in the absorption spectrum, which is consistent with the experimental results. In this investigation, we consider triangular and hexagonal GQDs of various sizes with zigzag and armchair edges. Our simulations show that unlike monolayer GQDs, for which light absorption for out-of-plane polarization occurs in the ultraviolet wavelength range of 85–250 nm, the out-of-plane polarization light absorption peaks in the bilayer GQDs appear in the near-infrared range of 500–1600 nm, similar to those in bilayer graphene sheets. The out-of-plane polarization light absorption peaks in the near-infrared range make bilayer GQDs suitable for integrated optics and optical communication applications.
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Yuan F, Yuan T, Sui L, Wang Z, Xi Z, Li Y, Li X, Fan L, Tan Z, Chen A, Jin M, Yang S. Engineering triangular carbon quantum dots with unprecedented narrow bandwidth emission for multicolored LEDs. Nat Commun 2018; 9:2249. [PMID: 29884873 PMCID: PMC5993800 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04635-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 350] [Impact Index Per Article: 58.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have emerged as promising materials for optoelectronic applications on account of carbon's intrinsic merits of high stability, low cost, and environment-friendliness. However, the CQDs usually give broad emission with full width at half maximum exceeding 80 nm, which fundamentally limit their display applications. Here we demonstrate multicolored narrow bandwidth emission (full width at half maximum of 30 nm) from triangular CQDs with a quantum yield up to 54-72%. Detailed structural and optical characterizations together with theoretical calculations reveal that the molecular purity and crystalline perfection of the triangular CQDs are key to the high color-purity. Moreover, multicolored light-emitting diodes based on these CQDs display good stability, high color-purity, and high-performance with maximum luminance of 1882-4762 cd m-2 and current efficiency of 1.22-5.11 cd A-1. This work will set the stage for developing next-generation high-performance CQDs-based light-emitting diodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanglong Yuan
- College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing, China
| | - Ting Yuan
- College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing, China
| | - Laizhi Sui
- Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Jilin University, 130012, Changchun, China
- State key Laboratory of Molecular Reaction Dynamics, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, 116023, Dalian, China
| | - Zhibin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System with Renewable Energy Sources, School of Renewable Energy, North China Electric Power University, 102206, Beijing, China
| | - Zifan Xi
- College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing, China
| | - Yunchao Li
- College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaohong Li
- College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing, China
| | - Louzhen Fan
- College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing, China.
| | - Zhan'ao Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System with Renewable Energy Sources, School of Renewable Energy, North China Electric Power University, 102206, Beijing, China.
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 100029, Beijing, China.
| | - Anmin Chen
- Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Jilin University, 130012, Changchun, China
| | - Mingxing Jin
- Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Jilin University, 130012, Changchun, China
| | - Shihe Yang
- Guangdong Key Lab of Nano-Micro Material Research, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, 518055, Shenzhen, China.
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Zeng M, Shah SA, Huang D, Parviz D, Yu YH, Wang X, Green MJ, Cheng Z. Aqueous Exfoliation of Graphite into Graphene Assisted by Sulfonyl Graphene Quantum Dots for Photonic Crystal Applications. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2017; 9:30797-30804. [PMID: 28816428 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b06980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the π-π stacking of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with graphene surfaces, showing that such interactions are general across a wide range of PAH sizes and species, including graphene quantum dots. We synthesized a series of graphene quantum dots with sulfonyl, amino, and carboxylic functional groups and employed them to exfoliate and disperse pristine graphene in water. We observed that sulfonyl-functionalized graphene quantum dots were able to stabilize the highest concentration of graphene in comparison to other functional groups; this is consistent with prior findings by pyrene. The graphene nanosheets prepared showed excellent colloidal stability, indicating great potential for applications in electronics, solar cells, and photonic displays which was demonstrated in this work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minxiang Zeng
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Smit A Shah
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Dali Huang
- Department of Material Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Dorsa Parviz
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Yi-Hsien Yu
- Department of Material Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Xuezhen Wang
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Micah J Green
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
- Department of Material Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Zhengdong Cheng
- Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
- Department of Material Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843, United States
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Zhang Y, Sheng W, Li Y. Dark excitons and tunable optical gap in graphene nanodots. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 19:23131-23137. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cp04591c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
By using a configuration interaction approach with up to the fifth excitations taken into account, we study the excitonic effect in the optical absorption in graphene nanodots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingjie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics
- Fudan University
- Shanghai 200433
- China
| | - Weidong Sheng
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics
- Fudan University
- Shanghai 200433
- China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures
| | - Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics
- Fudan University
- Shanghai 200433
- China
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Understanding fundamental processes in carbon materials with well-defined colloidal graphene quantum dots. Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2015.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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