Spontaneous Multielectron Transfer from the Surfaces of PbS Quantum Dots to Tetracyanoquinodimethane

Dedoping of Intraband Silver Selenide Colloidal Quantum Dots through Strong Electronic Coupling at Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Interfaces

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) infrared (IR) photodetectors can be fabricated and operated with larger spectral tunability, fewer limitations in terms of cooling requirements and substrate lattice matching, and at a potentially lower cost than detectors based on traditional bulk materials. Silver selenide (Ag2Se) has emerged as a promising sustainable alternative to current state-of-the-art toxic semiconductors based on lead, cadmium, and mercury operating in the IR. However, an impeding gap in available absorption bandwidth for Ag2Se CQDs exists in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) region due to degenerate doping by the environment, switching the CQDs from intrinsic interband semiconductors in the near-infrared (NIR) to intraband absorbing CQDs in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR). Herein, we show that the small molecular p-type dopant 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4-TCNQ) can be used to extract electrons from the 1Se state of MWIR active Ag2Se CQDs to activate their intrinsic energy gap in the SWIR window. We demonstrate quenching of the MWIR Ag2Se absorbance peak, shifting of nitrile vibrational peaks characteristic of charge-neutral F4-TCNQ, as well as enhanced CQD absorption around ∼2500 nm after doping both in ambient and under air-free conditions. We elucidate the doping mechanism to be one that involves an integer charge transfer akin to doping in semiconducting polymers. These indications of charge transfer are promising milestones on the path to achieving sustainable SWIR Ag2Se CQD photodetectors.

Orbital Mixing between Colloidal Quantum Dots and Surface-Bound Molecules

Orbital mixing is paramount to chemistry as it plays a central role in bond formation. It is also important for technologies such as molecular doping of polymers, where the concept of fractional charge transfer is essentially orbital mixing between dopants and hosts. Likewise, it would be both fundamentally interesting and technologically relevant to investigate orbital mixing in emerging hybrid materials containing both inorganic and organic moieties. Here we report experimental observation of orbital mixing between valence band levels of strongly confined PbS quantum dots (QDs) and lowest unoccupied molecular levels of surface-bound high-electron affinity molecules (F4TCNQ), manifested as both an absorption blue-shift of PbS and the emergence of visible and infrared signatures of the fractional charge-transfer species of F4TCNQ. The degree of mixing can be controlled by varying the QD size or by varying the molecule/QD ratio for a specific QD size and can be quantitatively reproduced by a nondegenerate, two-level perturbation model.

Multi-charge transfer from photodoped ITO nanocrystals

Metal oxide nanocrystals are emerging as an extremely versatile material for addressing many of the current challenging demands of energy-conversion technology. Being able to exploit their full potential is not only an advantage but also a scientific and economic ambition for a more sustainable energy development. In this direction, the photodoping of metal oxide nanocrystals is a very notable process that allows accumulating multiple charge carriers per nanocrystal after light absorption. The reactivity of the photodoped electrons is currently the subject of an intense study. In this context, the possibility to extract efficiently the stored electrons could be beneficial for numerous processes, from photoconversion and sunlight energy storage to photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry. In this work we provide, via oxidative titration and optical spectroscopy, evidence for multi-electron transfer processes from photodoped Sn : In₂O₃ nanocrystals to a widely employed organic electron acceptor (F4TCNQ). The results of this study disclose the potential of photodoped electrons to drive chemical reactions involving more than one electron.

Molecular-Level Insight into Semiconductor Nanocrystal Surfaces

Semiconductor nanocrystals exhibit attractive photophysical properties for use in a variety of applications. Advancing the efficiency of nanocrystal-based devices requires a deep understanding of the physical defects and electronic states that trap charge carriers. Many of these states reside at the nanocrystal surface, which acts as an interface between the semiconductor lattice and the molecular capping ligands. While a detailed structural and electronic understanding of the surface is required to optimize nanocrystal properties, these materials are at a technical disadvantage: unlike molecular structures, semiconductor nanocrystals lack a specific chemical formula and generally must be characterized as heterogeneous ensembles. Therefore, in order for the field to improve current nanocrystal-based technologies, a creative approach to gaining a "molecular-level" picture of nanocrystal surfaces is required. To this end, an expansive toolbox of experimental and computational techniques has emerged in recent years. In this Perspective, we critically evaluate the insight into surface structure and reactivity that can be gained from each of these techniques and demonstrate how their strategic combination is already advancing our molecular-level understanding of nanocrystal surface chemistry.

Long-Lived Negative Photocharging in Colloidal CdSe Quantum Dots Revealed by Coherent Electron Spin Precession

Photoinduced charging in CdSe colloidal quantum dots (QDs) is investigated by time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy that is sensitive to electron spin polarization. This technique monitors the coherent spin dynamics of optically oriented electrons precessing around an external magnetic field. By addition of 1-octanethiol to the CdSe QD solution in toluene, an extremely long-lived negative photocharging is detected that lives up to 1 month in an N₂ atmosphere and hours in an air atmosphere at room temperature. 1-Octanethiol not only acts as a hole acceptor but also results in a reduction of the oxygen-induced photo-oxidation in CdSe QDs, allowing air-stable negative photocharging. Two types of negative photocharging states with different spin precession frequencies and very different lifetimes are identified. These findings have important implications for understanding the photophysical processes in colloidal nanostructures.

Surface Sensing of Quantum Dots by Electron Spins

The nanoscale design of quantum dots (QDs) requires advanced analytical techniques. However, those that are commonly used do not have sufficient sensitivity or spatial resolution. Here, we use magnetic resonance techniques combined with paramagnetic Mn impurities in PbS QDs for sensitive probing of the QD surface and environment. In particular, we reveal inequivalent proton spin relaxations of the capping ligands and solvent molecules, strengths and anisotropies of the Mn nuclear spin interactions, and Mn nuclei distances with ∼1 Å sensitivity. These findings demonstrate the potential of magnetically doped QDs as sensitive magnetic nanoprobes and the use of electron spins for surface sensing.

Shape-Tunable Charge Carrier Dynamics at the Interfaces between Perovskite Nanocrystals and Molecular Acceptors

Hybrid organic/inorganic perovskites have recently emerged as an important class of materials and have exhibited remarkable performance in photovoltaics. To further improve their device efficiency, an insightful understanding of the interfacial charge transfer (CT) process is required. Here, we report the first direct experimental observation of the tremendous effect that the shape of perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) has on interfacial CT in the presence of a molecular acceptor. A dramatic change in CT dynamics at the interfaces of three different NC shapes, spheres, platelets, and cubes, is recorded. Our results clearly demonstrate that the mechanism of CT is significantly affected by the NC shape. More importantly, the results demonstrate that complexation on the NC surface acts as an additional driving force not only to tune the CT dynamics but also to control the reaction mechanism at the interface. This observation opens a new venue for further developing perovskite NCs-based applications.

Electronic Processes within Quantum Dot-Molecule Complexes

The subject of this review is the colloidal quantum dot (QD) and specifically the interaction of the QD with proximate molecules. It covers various functions of these molecules, including (i) ligands for the QDs, coupled electronically or vibrationally to localized surface states or to the delocalized states of the QD core, (ii) energy or electron donors or acceptors for the QDs, and (iii) structural components of QD assemblies that dictate QD-QD or QD-molecule interactions. Research on interactions of ligands with colloidal QDs has revealed that ligands determine not only the excited state dynamics of the QD but also, in some cases, its ground state electronic structure. Specifically, the article discusses (i) measurement of the electronic structure of colloidal QDs and the influence of their surface chemistry, in particular, dipolar ligands and exciton-delocalizing ligands, on their electronic energies; (ii) the role of molecules in interfacial electron and energy transfer processes involving QDs, including electron-to-vibrational energy transfer and the use of the ligand shell of a QD as a semipermeable membrane that gates its redox activity; and (iii) a particular application of colloidal QDs, photoredox catalysis, which exploits the combination of the electronic structure of the QD core and the chemistry at its surface to use the energy of the QD excited state to drive chemical reactions.

Subpicosecond Photoinduced Hole Transfer from a CdS Quantum Dot to a Molecular Acceptor Bound Through an Exciton-Delocalizing Ligand

This paper describes the enhancement of the rate of hole transfer from a photoexcited CdS quantum dot (QD), with radius R = 2.0 nm, to a molecular acceptor, phenothiazine (PTZ), by linking the donor and acceptor through a phenyldithiocarbamate (PTC) linker, which is known to lower the confinement energy of the excitonic hole. Upon adsorption of PTC, the bandgap of the QD decreases due to delocalization of the exciton, primarily the excitonic hole, into interfacial states of mixed QD/PTC character. This delocalization enables hole transfer from the QD to PTZ in <300 fs (within the instrument response of the laser system) when linked by PTC, but not when linked by a benzoate group, which has a similar length and conjugation as PTC but does not delocalize the excitonic hole. Comparison of the two systems was aided by quantification of the surface coverage of benzoate and PTC-linked PTZ by (1)H NMR. This work provides direct spectroscopic evidence of the enhancement of the rate of hole extraction from a colloidal QD through covalent linkage of a hole acceptor through an exciton-delocalizing ligand.

Photocatalytic Conversion of Nitrobenzene to Aniline through Sequential Proton-Coupled One-Electron Transfers from a Cadmium Sulfide Quantum Dot

This paper describes the use of cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs) as visible-light photocatalysts for the reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline through six sequential photoinduced, proton-coupled electron transfers. At pH 3.6-4.3, the internal quantum yield of photons-to-reducing electrons is 37.1% over 54 h of illumination, with no apparent decrease in catalyst activity. Monitoring of the QD exciton by transient absorption reveals that, for each step in the catalytic cycle, the sacrificial reductant, 3-mercaptopropionic acid, scavenges the excitonic hole in ∼5 ps to form QD(•-); electron transfer to nitrobenzene or the intermediates nitrosobenzene and phenylhydroxylamine then occurs on the nanosecond time scale. The rate constants for the single-electron transfer reactions are correlated with the driving forces for the corresponding proton-coupled electron transfers. This result suggests, but does not prove, that electron transfer, not proton transfer, is rate-limiting for these reactions. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of the QD-molecule systems shows that the photoproduct aniline, left unprotonated, serves as a poison for the QD catalyst by adsorbing to its surface. Performing the reaction at an acidic pH not only encourages aniline to desorb but also increases the probability of protonated intermediates; the latter effect probably ensures that recruitment of protons is not rate-limiting.

A cobalt(ii) spin-crossover compound with partially charged TCNQ radicals and an anomalous conducting behavior

The bifunctional salt [Co(terpy)₂](TCNQ)₃·CH₃CN (terpy = 2,2';6',2''-terpyridine, TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquino-dimethane) exhibits a high room temperature conductivity of 0.13 S cm^-1 and an anomaly in conductivity at ∼190 K as evidenced by variable temperature structural, magnetic and conductivity studies. The anomaly in the conductivity at 190 K has been correlated with the temperature dependent structural breathing and Jahn-Teller distortion of the low spin state of the SCO units, as well as the charge fluctuations and supramolecular π-stacking interactions of partially charged TCNQ radicals. The modular synthetic approach leads to an accessible source of partially charged TCNQ radicals for the facile preparation of bifunctional molecular materials with high electrical conductivity.

Temperature-Dependent Permeability of the Ligand Shell of PbS Quantum Dots Probed by Electron Transfer to Benzoquinone

This paper describes an increase in the yield of collisionally gated photoinduced electron transfer (electron transfer events per collision) from oleate-capped PbS quantum dots (QDs) to benzoquinone (BQ) with increasing temperature (from 0 to 50 °C), due to increased permeability of the oleate adlayer of the QDs to BQ. The same changes in intermolecular structure of the adlayer that increase its permeability to BQ also increase its permeability to the solvent, toluene, resulting in a decrease in viscous drag and an apparent increase in the diffusion coefficient of the QDs, as measured by diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) NMR. Comparison of NMR and transient absorption spectra of QDs capped with flexible oleate with those capped with rigid methylthiolate provides evidence that the temperature dependence of the permeability of the oleate ligand shell is due to formation of transient gaps in the adlayer through conformational fluctuations of the ligands.

Density functional investigation and some optical experiments on dye-sensitized quantum dots

Dye-sensitized quantum dots (QDs) are promising candidates for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).

Conditions for Directional Charge Transfer in CdSe Quantum Dots Functionalized by Ru(II) Polypyridine Complexes

Thermodynamic conditions governing the charge transfer direction in CdSe quantum dots (QD) functionalized by either Ru(II)-trisbipyridine or black dye are studied using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT). Compared to the energy offsets of the isolated QD and the dye, QD-dye interactions strongly stabilize dye orbitals with respect to the QD states, while the surface chemistry of the QD has a minor effect on the energy offsets. In all considered QD/dye composites, the dyes always introduce unoccupied states close to the edge of the conduction band and control the electron transfer. Negatively charged ligands and less polar solvents significantly destabilize the dye's occupied orbitals shifting them toward the very edge of the valence band, thus, providing favorite conditions for the hole transfer. Overall, variations in the dye's ligands and solvent polarity can progressively adjust the electronic structure of QD/dye composites to modify conditions for the directed charge transfer.

Organic molecules as tools to control the growth, surface structure, and redox activity of colloidal quantum dots

In order to achieve efficient and reliable technology that can harness solar energy, the behavior of electrons and energy at interfaces between different types or phases of materials must be understood. Conversion of light to chemical or electrical potential in condensed phase systems requires gradients in free energy that allow the movement of energy or charge carriers and facilitate redox reactions and dissociation of photoexcited states (excitons) into free charge carriers. Such free energy gradients are present at interfaces between solid and liquid phases or between inorganic and organic materials. Nanostructured materials have a higher density of these interfaces than bulk materials. Nanostructured materials, however, have a structural and chemical complexity that does not exist in bulk materials, which presents a difficult challenge: to lower or eliminate energy barriers to electron and energy flux that inevitably result from forcing different materials to meet in a spatial region of atomic dimensions. Chemical functionalization of nanostructured materials is perhaps the most versatile and powerful strategy for controlling the potential energy landscape of their interfaces and for minimizing losses in energy conversion efficiency due to interfacial structural and electronic defects. Colloidal quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystals synthesized with wet-chemical methods and coated in organic molecules. Chemists can use these model systems to study the effects of chemical functionalization of nanoscale organic/inorganic interfaces on the optical and electronic properties of a nanostructured material, and the behavior of electrons and energy at interfaces. The optical and electronic properties of colloidal quantum dots have an intense sensitivity to their surface chemistry, and their organic adlayers make them dispersible in solvent. This allows researchers to use high signal-to-noise solution-phase spectroscopy to study processes at interfaces. In this Account, I describe the varied roles of organic molecules in controlling the structure and properties of colloidal quantum dots. Molecules serve as surfactant that determines the mechanism and rate of nucleation and growth and the final size and surface structure of a quantum dot. Anionic surfactant in the reaction mixture allows precise control over the size of the quantum dot core but also drives cation enrichment and structural disordering of the quantum dot surface. Molecules serve as chemisorbed ligands that dictate the energetic distribution of surface states. These states can then serve as thermodynamic traps for excitonic charge carriers or couple to delocalized states of the quantum dot core to change the confinement energy of excitonic carriers. Ligands, therefore, in some cases, dramatically shift the ground state absorption and photoluminescence spectra of quantum dots. Molecules also act as protective layers that determine the probability of redox processes between quantum dots and other molecules. How much the ligand shell insulates the quantum dot from electron exchange with a molecular redox partner depends less on the length or degree of conjugation of the native ligand and more on the density and packing structure of the adlayer and the size and adsorption mode of the molecular redox partner. Control of quantum dot properties in these examples demonstrates that nanoscale interfaces, while complex, can be rationally designed to enhance or specify the functionality of a nanostructured system.