Energy Transfer from Perovskite Nanocrystals to Dye Molecules Does Not Occur by FRET

Investigation on luminescence photoswitching stability in diarylethene-perovskite quantum dot hybrids

Perovskite quantum dots (pQDs) have gathered a lot of attention because of their outstanding optoelectronic properties. Photoswitchable pQDs have the potential for application in single particle optical memories and bio-imaging. Hybrids of photochromic diarylethenes (DAE) and pQDs show a luminescence photoswitching property, however, the cycle stability in such systems is low because of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from pQDs to DAE. In this study, various hybrids of DAEs and pQDs with different spacer lengths between the pQD donors and DAE acceptors were synthesized and their stability towards multiple cycles of luminescence photoswitching was evaluated. It was found that the electron transfer pathway can be blocked and very stable switchable hybrids can be produced when the distance between the donors and acceptors was long enough. Furthermore, the effect of softness of the basic ligands and the synthesis method of the pQDs on the cycle stability of the hybrids were investigated. The findings of this study suggest that the photoswitching stability can be improved in hybrid systems by proper molecular design of the photochromic molecule.

Ultraviolet Circularly Polarized Luminescence in Chiral Perovskite Nanoplatelet-Molecular Hybrids: Direct Binding Versus Efficient Triplet Energy Transfer

The development of ultraviolet circularly polarized light (UVCPL) sources has the potential to benefit plenty of practical applications but remains a challenge due to limitations in available material systems and a limited understanding of the excited state chirality transfer. Herein, by constructing hybrid structures of the chiral perovskite CsPbBr3 nanoplatelets and organic molecules, excited state chirality transfer is achieved, either via direct binding or triplet energy transfer, leading to efficient UVCPL emission. The underlying photophysical mechanisms of these two scenarios are clarified by comprehensive optical studies. Intriguingly, UVCPL realized via the triple energy transfer, followed by the triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion processes, demonstrates a 50-fold enhanced dissymmetry factor glum. Furthermore, stereoselective photopolymerization of diacetylene monomer is demonstrated by using such efficient UVCPL. This study provides both novel insights and a practical approach for realizing UVCPL, which can also be extended to other material systems and spectral regions, such as visible and near-infrared.

Facile Tailoring of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Förster Resonance Energy Transfer-Driven Enhancement in Perovskite Photovoltaics

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) has demonstrated its potential to enhance the light energy utilization ratio of perovskite solar cells by interacting with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and perovskite layers. However, comprehensive investigations into how MOF design and synthesis impact FRET in perovskite systems are scarce. In this work, nanoscale HIAM-type Zr-MOF (HIAM-4023, HIAM-4024, and HIAM-4025) is meticulously tailored to evaluate FRET's existence and its influence on the perovskite photoactive layer. Through precise adjustments of amino groups and acceptor units in the organic linker, HIAM-MOFs are synthesized with the same topology, but distinct photoluminescence (PL) emission properties. Significant FRET is observed between HIAM-4023/HIAM-4024 and the perovskite, confirmed by spectral overlap, fluorescence lifetime decay, and calculated distances between HIAM-4023/HIAM-4024 and the perovskite. Conversely, the spectral overlap between the PL emission of HIAM-4025 and the perovskite's absorption spectrum is relatively minimal, impeding the energy transfer from HIAM-4025 to the perovskite. Therefore, the HIAM-4023/HIAM-4024-assisted perovskite devices exhibit enhanced EQE via FRET processes, whereas the HIAM-4025 demonstrates comparable EQE to the pristine. Ultimately, the HIAM-4023-assisted perovskite device achieves an enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.22% compared with pristine devices (PCE of 22.06%) and remarkable long-term stability under ambient conditions and continuous light illumination.

Quantifying Förster Resonance Energy Transfer from Single Perovskite Quantum Dots to Organic Dyes

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are promising regenerable photoredox catalysts offering broadly tunable redox potentials along with high absorption coefficients. QDs have thus far been examined for various organic transformations, water splitting, and CO2 reduction. Vast opportunities emerge from coupling QDs with other homogeneous catalysts, such as transition metal complexes or organic dyes, into hybrid nanoassemblies exploiting energy transfer (ET), leveraging a large absorption cross-section of QDs and long-lived triplet states of cocatalysts. However, a thorough understanding and further engineering of the complex operational mechanisms of hybrid nanoassemblies require simultaneously controlling the surface chemistry of the QDs and probing dynamics at sufficient spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we probe the ET from single lead halide perovskite QDs, capped by alkylphospholipid ligands, to organic dye molecules employing single-particle photoluminescence spectroscopy with single-photon resolution. We identify a Förster-type ET by spatial, temporal, and photon-photon correlations in the QD and dye emission. Discrete quenching steps in the acceptor emission reveal stochastic photobleaching events of individual organic dyes, allowing a precise quantification of the transfer efficiency, which is >70% for QD-dye complexes with strong donor-acceptor spectral overlap. Our work explores the processes occurring at the QD/molecule interface and demonstrates the feasibility of sensitizing organic photocatalysts with QDs.

Single-Photon Emission from Organic Dye Molecules Adsorbed on a Quantum Dot via Energy Transfer

Single-photon emissions from individual emitters are crucial in fundamental science and quantum information technologies. Multichromophoric systems, comprising multiple dyes, can exhibit single-photon emissions through efficient annihilation between the excited states; however, exploring this phenomenon in complex systems remains a challenge. In this study, we investigated the photon statistics of emissions from multiple perylene bisimide (PBI) dyes adsorbed onto the surface of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs). When multiple PBIs were simultaneously excited by both direct excitation and energy transfer from the QD, multiphoton emissions from the PBIs were observed. Conversely, when the QDs were selectively excited, multiple PBIs exhibiting single-photon emission through energy transfer from the QDs to the PBIs were found. These results highlight the intriguing interplay between multichromophoric systems and QDs, offering valuable insights into the development of efficient single-photon sources in quantum information technologies.

Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-Based Sensor for Detection of Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria: A Review

Sensitive and rapid determination of foodborne pathogenic bacteria is of practical importance for the control and prevention of foodborne illnesses. Nowadays, with the prosperous development of fluorescence assays, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-derived diagnostic strategies are extensively employed in quantitative analysis of different pathogenic bacteria in food-related matrices, which displays a rapid, simple, stable, reliable, cost-effective, selective, sensitive, and real-time way. Considering the extensive efforts that have been made in this field so far, we here discuss the up-to-date developments of FRET-based diagnostic approaches for the determination of key foodborne pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., and Bacillus cereus in complex food-related matrices. Moreover, the principle of this technology, the choosing standards of acceptor-donor pairs, and the fluorescence properties are also profiled. Finally, the current prospects and challenges in this field are also put forward.

Tunable Metal Oxide Shell as a Spacer to Study Energy Transfer in Semiconductor Nanocrystals

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) are promising components in various optoelectronic and photocatalytic devices; however, the mechanism of energy transport in these materials remains to be further understood. Here, we investigate the distance dependence of the electronic interactions between CsPbBr₃ nanocubes and CdSe nanoplateles using an alumina (AlO_x) shell as a spacer. CsPbBr₃@AlO_x core@shell NCs are synthesized via colloidal atomic layer deposition (c-ALD), which allows us to fine-tune the oxide thickness and thus the distance d between the two NCs. This versatile material platform shows that the electronic interactions between the CsPbBr₃ NCs and the CdSe nanoplatelets can be tuned from electron to energy transfer by increasing the shell thickness, whereas previous studies on the same system had been limited to the former. Considering the applicability of the c-ALD to different NCs, we suggest that metal oxide shell spacers synthesized by this approach can generally be used to study energy-transfer mechanisms at the nanoscale.