Exciton Binding Energy in Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Unlocking the Potential of Nanoribbon-Based Sb2S3/Sb2Se3 van-der-Waals Heterostructure for Solar-Energy-Conversion and Optoelectronics Applications

High-performance nanosized optoelectronic devices based on van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures have significant potential for use in a variety of applications. However, the investigation of nanoribbon-based vdW heterostructures are still mostly unexplored. In this study, based on first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that a Sb2S3/Sb2Se3 vdW heterostructure, which is formed by isostructural nanoribbons of stibnite (Sb2S3) and antimonselite (Sb2Se3), possesses a direct band gap with a typical type-II band alignment, which is suitable for optoelectronics and solar energy conversion. Optical absorption spectra show broad profiles in the visible and UV ranges for all of the studied configurations, indicating their suitability for photodevices. Additionally, in 1D nanoribbons, we see sharp peaks corresponding to strongly bound excitons in a fashion similar to that of other quasi-1D systems. The Sb2S3/Sb2Se3 heterostructure is predicted to exhibit a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 28.2%, positioning it competitively alongside other extensively studied two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures.

Nonlinear Optical Microscopy with Ultralow Quantum Light

Nonlinear optical (NLO) microscopy relies on multiple light-matter interactions to provide unique contrast mechanisms and imaging capabilities that are inaccessible to traditional linear optical imaging approaches, making them versatile tools to understand a wide range of complex systems. However, the strong excitation fields that are necessary to drive higher-order optical processes efficiently are often responsible for photobleaching, photodegradation, and interruption in many systems of interest. This is especially true for imaging living biological samples over prolonged periods of time or in accessing intrinsic dynamics of electronic excited-state processes in spatially heterogeneous materials. This perspective outlines some of the key limitations of two NLO imaging modalities implemented in our lab and highlights the unique potential afforded by the quantum properties of light, especially entangled two-photon absorption based NLO spectroscopy and microscopy. We further review some of the recent exciting advances in this emerging filed and highlight some major challenges facing the realization of quantum-light-enabled NLO imaging modalities.

Stacking angle-tunable photoluminescence from interlayer exciton states in twisted bilayer graphene

Twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) is a metallic material with two degenerate van Hove singularity transitions that can rehybridize to form interlayer exciton states. Here we report photoluminescence (PL) emission from tBLG after resonant 2-photon excitation, which tunes with the interlayer stacking angle, θ. We spatially image individual tBLG domains at room-temperature and show a five-fold resonant PL-enhancement over the background hot-electron emission. Prior theory predicts that interlayer orbitals mix to create 2-photon-accessible strongly-bound (~0.7 eV) exciton and continuum-edge states, which we observe as two spectral peaks in both PL excitation and excited-state absorption spectra. This peak splitting provides independent estimates of the exciton binding energy which scales from 0.5–0.7 eV with θ = 7.5° to 16.5°. A predicted vanishing exciton-continuum coupling strength helps explain both the weak resonant PL and the slower 1 ps⁻¹ exciton relaxation rate observed. This hybrid metal-exciton behavior electron thermalization and PL emission are tunable with stacking angle for potential enhancements in optoelectronic and fast-photosensing graphene-based applications.

Interlayer electronic states in twisted bilayer graphene are characterized by flat-band regions hosting many-body electronic effects. Here, the authors observe two-photon photoluminescence excitation and excited-state absorption spectra on graphene containing a variety of twist angles to access the dark exciton transitions and estimate the exciton binding energy.

In-Plane Isotropic/Anisotropic 2D van der Waals Heterostructures for Future Devices

Mono- to few-layers of 2D semiconducting materials have uniquely inherent optical, electronic, and magnetic properties that make them ideal for probing fundamental scientific phenomena up to the 2D quantum limit and exploring their emerging technological applications. This Review focuses on the fundamental optoelectronic studies and potential applications of in-plane isotropic/anisotropic 2D semiconducting heterostructures. Strong light-matter interaction, reduced dimensionality, and dielectric screening in mono- to few-layers of 2D semiconducting materials result in strong many-body interactions, leading to the formation of robust quasiparticles such as excitons, trions, and biexcitons. An in-plane isotropic nature leads to the quasi-2D particles, whereas, an anisotropic nature leads to quasi-1D particles. Hence, in-plane isotropic/anisotropic 2D heterostructures lead to the formation of quasi-1D/2D particle systems allowing for the manipulation of high binding energy quasi-1D particle populations for use in a wide variety of applications. This Review emphasizes an exciting 1D-2D particles dynamic in such heterostructures and their potential for high-performance photoemitters and exciton-polariton lasers. Moreover, their scopes are also broadened in thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, photostriction, energy storage, hydrogen evolution reactions, and chemical sensor fields. The unique in-plane isotropic/anisotropic 2D heterostructures may open the possibility of engineering smart devices in the nanodomain with complex opto-electromechanical functions.

Direct Proof of a Defect-Modulated Gap Transition in Semiconducting Nanotubes

Measurements of optical properties at a nanometer level are of central importance for the characterization of optoelectronic devices. It is, however, difficult to use conventional light-probe measurements to determine the local optical properties from a single quantum object with nanometrical inhomogeneity. Here, we successfully measured the optical gap transitions of an individual semiconducting carbon nanotube with defects by using a monochromated electron source as a probe. The optical conductivity extracted from an electron energy-loss spectrum for a certain type of defect presents a characteristic modification near the lowest excitation peak ( E₁₁), where excitons and nonradiative transitions, as well as phonon-coupled excitations, are strongly involved. Detailed line-shape analysis of the E₁₁ peak clearly shows different degrees of exciton lifetime shortening and electronic state modification according to the defect type.

Highly Enhanced Many-Body Interactions in Anisotropic 2D Semiconductors

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have presented a plethora of opportunities for future optoelectronic devices and photonics applications, made possible by the strong light matter interactions at the 2D quantum limit. Many body interactions between fundamental particles in 2D semiconductors are strongly enhanced compared with those in bulk semiconductors because of the reduced dimensionality and, thus, reduced dielectric screening. These enhanced many body interactions lead to the formation of robust quasi-particles, such as excitons, trions, and biexcitons, which are extremely important for the optoelectronics device applications of 2D semiconductors, such as light emitting diodes, lasers, and optical modulators, etc. Recently, the emerging anisotropic 2D semiconductors, such as black phosphorus (termed as phosphorene) and phosphorene-like 2D materials, such as ReSe₂, 2D-perovskites, SnS, etc., show strong anisotropic optical and electrical properties, which are different from conventional isotropic 2D semiconductors, such as transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers. This anisotropy leads to the formation of quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) excitons and trions in a 2D system, which results in even stronger many body interactions in anisotropic 2D materials, arising from the further reduced dimensionality of the quasi-particles and thus reduced dielectric screening. Many body interactions have been heavily investigated in TMD monolayers in past years, but not in anisotropic 2D materials yet. The quasi-particles in anisotropic 2D materials have fractional dimensionality which makes them perfect candidates to serve as a platform to study fundamental particle interactions in fractional dimensional space. In this Account, we present our recent progress related to 2D phosphorene, a 2D system with quasi-1D excitons and trions. Phosphorene, because of its unique anisotropic properties, provides a unique 2D platform for investigating the dynamics of excitons, trions, and biexcitons in reduced dimensions and fundamental many body interactions. We begin by explaining the fundamental reasons for the highly enhanced interactions in the 2D systems influenced by dielectric screening, resulting in high binding energies of excitons and trions, which are supported by theoretical calculations and experimental observations. Phosphorene has shown much higher binding energies of excitons and trions than TMD monolayers, which allows robust quasi-particles in anisotropic materials at room temperature. We also discuss the role of extrinsic defects induced in phosphorene, resulting in localized excitonic emissions in the near-infrared range, making it suitable for optical telecommunication applications. Finally, we present our vision of the exciting device applications based on the highly enhanced many body interactions in phosphorene, including exciton-polariton devices, polariton lasers, single-photon emitters, and tunable light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Surpassing the Exciton Diffusion Limit in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Sensitized Solar Cells

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (s-SWNT) light sensitized devices, such as infrared photodetectors and solar cells, have recently been widely reported. Despite their excellent individual electrical properties, efficient carrier transport from one carbon nanotube to another remains a fundamental challenge. Specifically, photovoltaic devices with active layers made from s-SWNTs have suffered from low efficiencies caused by three main challenges: the overwhelming presence of high-bandgap polymers in the films, the weak bandgap offset between the LUMO of the s-SWNTs and the acceptor C₆₀, and the limited exciton diffusion length from one SWNT to another of around 5 nm that limits the carrier extraction efficiency. Herein, we employ a combination of processing and device architecture design strategies to address each of these transport challenges and fabricate photovoltaic devices with s-SWNT films well beyond the exciton diffusion limit of 5 nm. While our solution processing method minimizes the presence of undesired polymers in our active films, our interfacial designs led to a significant increase in current generation with the addition of a highly doped C₆₀ layer (n-doped C₆₀), resulting in increased carrier separation efficiency from the s-SWNTs films. We create a dense interconnected nanoporous mesh of s-SWNTs using solution shearing and infiltrate it with the acceptor C₆₀. Thus, our final engineered bulk heterojunction allows carriers from deep within to be extracted by the C₆₀ registering a 10-fold improvement in performance from our preliminary structures.

Exciton-exciton annihilation and relaxation pathways in semiconducting carbon nanotubes

We present a thorough analysis of one- and two-color transient absorption measurements performed on single- and double-walled semiconducting carbon nanotubes. By combining the currently existing models describing exciton-exciton annihilation-the coherent and the diffusion-limited ones-we are able to simultaneously reproduce excitation kinetics following both E11 and E22 pump conditions. Our simulations revealed the fundamental photophysical behavior of one-dimensional coherent excitons and non-trivial excitation relaxation pathways. In particular, we found that after non-linear annihilation a doubly-excited exciton relaxes directly to its E11 state bypassing the intermediate E22 manifold, so that after excitation resonant with the E11 transition, the E22 state remains unpopulated. A quantitative explanation for the observed much faster excitation kinetics probed at E22 manifold, comparing to those probed at the E11 band, is also provided.

Spatial Localization of Excitons and Charge Carriers in Hybrid Perovskite Thin Films

The fundamental photophysics underlying the remarkably high-power conversion efficiency of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite-based solar cells has been increasingly studied using complementary spectroscopic techniques. However, the spatially heterogeneous polycrystalline morphology of the photoactive layers owing to the presence of distinct crystalline grains has been generally neglected in optical measurements; therefore, the reported results are typically averaged over hundreds or even thousands of such grains. Here we apply femtosecond transient absorption microscopy to spatially and temporally probe ultrafast electronic excited-state dynamics in pristine methylammonium lead tri-iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) thin films and composite structures. We found that the electronic excited-state relaxation kinetics are extremely sensitive to the sample location probed, which was manifested by position-dependent decay time scales and transient signals. Analysis of transient absorption kinetics acquired at distinct spatial positions enabled us to identify contributions of excitons and free charge carriers.

High energetic excitons in carbon nanotubes directly probe charge-carriers

Theory predicts peculiar features for excited-state dynamics in one dimension (1D) that are difficult to be observed experimentally. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are an excellent approximation to 1D quantum confinement, due to their very high aspect ratio and low density of defects. Here we use ultrafast optical spectroscopy to probe photogenerated charge-carriers in (6,5) semiconducting SWNTs. We identify the transient energy shift of the highly polarizable S₃₃ transition as a sensitive fingerprint of charge-carriers in SWNTs. By measuring the coherent phonon amplitude profile we obtain a precise estimate of the Stark-shift and discuss the binding energy of the S₃₃ excitonic transition. From this, we infer that charge-carriers are formed instantaneously (<50 fs) even upon pumping the first exciton, S₁₁. The decay of the photogenerated charge-carrier population is well described by a model for geminate recombination in 1D.

Potentiometric, electronic, and transient absorptive spectroscopic properties of oxidized single-walled carbon nanotubes helically wrapped by ionic, semiconducting polymers in aqueous and organic media

We report the first direct cyclic voltammetric determination of the valence and conduction band energy levels for noncovalently modified (6,5) chirality enriched SWNTs [(6,5) SWNTs] in which an aryleneethynylene polymer monolayer helically wraps the nanotube surface at periodic and constant morphology. Potentiometric properties as well as the steady-state and transient absorption spectroscopic signatures of oxidized (6,5) SWNTs were probed as a function of the electronic structure of the aryleneethynylene polymer that helically wraps the nanotube surface, the solvent dielectric, and nanotube hole polaron concentration. These data: (i) highlight the utility of these polymer-SWNT superstructures in experiments that establish the potentiometric valence and conduction band energy levels of semiconducting carbon nanotubes; (ii) provide a direct measure of the (6,5) SWNT hole polaron delocalization length (2.75 nm); (iii) determine steady-state and transient electronic absorptive spectroscopic signatures that are uniquely associated with the (6,5) SWNT hole polaron state; and (iv) demonstrate that modulation of semiconducting polymer frontier orbital energy levels can drive spectral shifts of SWNT hole polaron transitions as well as regulate SWNT valence and conduction band energies.

The excitonic effects in single and double-walled boron nitride nanotubes

The electronic structures and excitonic optical properties of single- and double-walled armchair boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) [e.g., (5,5) and (10,10), and (5,5)@(10,10)] are investigated within many-body Green's function and Bethe-Salpeter equation formalism. The first absorption peak of the double-walled nanotube has almost no shift compared with the single-walled (5,5) tube due to the strong optical transition in the double-walled tube that occurs within the inner (5,5) one. Dark and semi-dark excitonic states are detected in the lower energy region, stemming from the charge transfer between inner and outer tubes in the double-walled structure. Most interestingly, the charge transfer makes the electron and the hole reside in different tubes. Moreover, the excited electrons in the double-walled BNNT are able to transfer from the outer tube to the inner one, opposite to that which has been observed in double-walled carbon nanotubes.

Effect of solvent polarity and electrophilicity on quantum yields and solvatochromic shifts of single-walled carbon nanotube photoluminescence

In this work, we investigate the impact of the solvation environment on single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) photoluminescence quantum yield and optical transition energies (E(ii)) using a highly charged aryleneethynylene polymer. This novel surfactant produces dispersions in a variety of polar solvents having a wide range of dielectric constants (methanol, dimethyl sulfoxide, aqueous dimethylformamide, and deuterium oxide). Because a common surfactant can be used while maintaining a constant SWCNT-surfactant morphology, we are able to straightforwardly evaluate the impact of the solvation environment upon SWCNT optical properties. We find that (i) the SWCNT quantum yield is strongly dependent on both the polarity and electrophilicity of the solvent and (ii) solvatochromic shifts correlate with the extent of SWCNT solvation. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the environmental dependence of SWCNT excitonic properties and underscore that the solvent provides a tool with which to modulate SWCNT electronic and optical properties.

Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy reveals the dynamics of phonon-mediated excitation pathways in semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

Electronic two-dimensional Fourier transform (2D-FT) spectroscopy is applied to semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes and provides a spectral and time-domain map of exciton-phonon assisted excitations. Using 12 fs long pulses, we resolve side-bands above the E(22) transition that correspond with the RBM, G, G', 2G and other multiphonon modes. The appearance of 2D-FT spectral cross-peaks explicitly resolves discrete phonon assisted population transfer that scatters excitations to the E(22) (Γ-pt) state, often through a second-order exciton-phonon coupling process. All 2D-FT peaks exhibit a strong peak amplitude modulation at the G-band period (21 fs) which we show originates from an impulsive stimulated Raman process that populates a ground-state G-band vibrational coherence over a 1.3 ps phonon lifetime.

Near-infrared fluorescent sensors based on single-walled carbon nanotubes for life sciences applications

Many properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) make them ideal candidates for sensors, particularly for biological systems. Both their fluorescence in the near-infrared range of 820-1600 nm, where absorption by biological tissues is often minimal, and their inherent photostability are desirable attributes for the design of in vitro and in vivo sensors. The mechanisms by which a target molecule can selectively alter the fluorescent emission include primarily changes in emission wavelength (i.e., solvatochromism) and intensity, including effects such as charge-transfer transition bleaching and exciton quenching. The central challenge lies in engineering the nanotube interface to be selective for the analyte of interest. In this work, we review the recent development in this area over the past few years, and describe the design rules that we have developed for detecting various analytes, ranging from stable small molecules and reactive oxygen species (ROS) or reactive nitrogen species (RNS) to macromolecules. Applications to in vivo sensor measurements using these sensors are also described. In addition, the emerging field of SWCNT-based single-molecule detection using band gap fluorescence and the recent efforts to accurately quantify and utilize this unique class of stochastic sensors are also described in this article.

Phase transfer catalysts drive diverse organic solvent solubility of single-walled carbon nanotubes helically wrapped by ionic, semiconducting polymers

Use of phase transfer catalysts such as 18-crown-6 enables ionic, linear conjugated poly[2,6-{1,5-bis(3-propoxysulfonicacidsodiumsalt)}naphthylene]ethynylene (PNES) to efficiently disperse single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in multiple organic solvents under standard ultrasonication methods. Steady-state electronic absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal that these SWNT suspensions are composed almost exclusively of individualized tubes. High-resolution TEM and AFM data show that the interaction of PNES with SWNTs in both protic and aprotic organic solvents provides a self-assembled superstructure in which a PNES monolayer helically wraps the nanotube surface with periodic and constant morphology (observed helical pitch length = 10 ± 2 nm); time-dependent examination of these suspensions indicates that these structures persist in solution over periods that span at least several months. Pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy reveals that the excited state lifetimes and exciton binding energies of these well-defined nanotube-semiconducting polymer hybrid structures remain unchanged relative to analogous benchmark data acquired previously for standard sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)-SWNT suspensions, regardless of solvent. These results demonstrate that the use of phase transfer catalysts with ionic semiconducting polymers that helically wrap SWNTs provide well-defined structures that solubulize SWNTs in a wide range of organic solvents while preserving critical nanotube semiconducting and conducting properties.

Solvation-induced one-dimensional polarons and electron transfer

When a one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor nanostructure is immersed in a sluggish polar solvent, fluctuations of the medium may result in the appearance of localized electronic levels inside the band gap. An excess charge carrier can occupy such a level and undergo self-localization into a large-radius adiabatic polaron surrounded by a self-consistent medium polarization pattern. Within an appropriately adapted framework of the Marcus theory, we explore the description and qualitative picture of thermally activated electron transfer involving solvation-induced polaroniclike states by considering transfer between small and 1D species as well as between two 1D species. Illustrative calculations are performed for tubular geometries with possible applications to carbon nanotube systems.

Optical absorption from solvation-induced polarons on nanotubes

When an excess charge carrier is added to a one-dimensional (1D) wide-band semiconductor immersed in a polar solvent, the carrier can undergo self-localization into a large-radius adiabatic polaron. We explore the local optical absorption from the ground state of 1D polarons using a simplified theoretical model for small-diameter tubular structures. It is found that about 90% of the absorption strength is contained in the transition to the second lowest-energy localized electronic level formed in the polarization potential well, with the equilibrium transition energy larger than the binding energy of the polaron. Thermal fluctuations, however, can cause a very substantial--an order of magnitude larger than the thermal energy--broadening of the transition. The resulting broad absorption feature may serve as a signature for the optical detection of solvated charge carriers.

Ultrafast exciton dephasing in semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

Femtosecond two-pulse degenerate four-wave mixing spectroscopy was applied to study the exciton dephasing in a broad range of excitation intensities and lattice temperatures. We find that both exciton-exciton and exciton-phonon scattering have profound effects on the dephasing process. The dominant phonon mode involved in the dephasing is identified as the out-of-plane, transverse optical mode with a frequency of 847 cm(-1). The extracted homogeneous linewidths at all measured temperatures are in excellent agreement with the results of a single-tube photoluminescence experiment.

Femtosecond photon echo spectroscopy of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

Three-pulse photon echo peak shift measurements were performed on semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in polymer matrix at room temperature. Simultaneous modeling of the peak shift data in the limit of zero-intensity and the linear absorption spectrum enable us to extract an intrinsic homogeneous line width of 178 cm(-1), an inhomogeneous width of 698 cm(-1), and a Huang-Rhys factor of 0.04 for the radial breathing mode vibration. The peak shift data when combined with two-pulse photon echo and pump-probe measurements allows us to determine a pure exciton dephasing time scale of 78 fs at room temperature.

Excited excitonic states in single-walled carbon nanotubes

Polarized photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy on individual SWNTs reveals not only the longitudinal and transverse E 11, E 22, and E 12 ground-state excitons but also excited excitonic states including the continuum. When heated, SWNTs are known to undergo a bandgap shift transition (BST), which effectively changes the nanotube dielectric environment. Here, we show that the entire spectrum of excitonic resonances blue shifts under this transition, with excited states showing larger shifts, approaching 100 meV for a 1 nm diameter nanotube. The excitonic binding energy, Coulomb self-energy correction, and dielectric shift under the BST are estimated. Analysis of this blue shift reveals the dominant effect of dielectric screening on SWNT excitonic states.

Protonation effects on the branching ratio in photoexcited single-walled carbon nanotube dispersions

The ensemble PL quantum yield for raw single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) dispersed in sodium cholate (SC) is approximately 5 times greater than that for the same raw SWNTs dispersed in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and approximately 10 times greater than the quantum yield of purified SWNTs dispersed in SC. Absorbance and Raman spectra indicate that purified SC-dispersed SWNTs and raw SDS-dispersed SWNTs are hole-doped by protonation. Experiments comparing PL emission efficiency using E2 and E1 excitation show that protonation significantly affects the E2 --> E1 relaxation process, which has typically been assumed to occur with unit efficiency. The E2 --> E 1 relaxation is 5 times more efficient in producing E 1 PL when SWNTs are unprotonated and protected by the SC surfactant. The results provide clear evidence that extrinsic factors, such as residual acids and the specific nature of SWNT-surfactant and SWNT-solvent interactions, can significantly affect measured SWNT luminescence quantum yields.

Insights into excitons confined to nanoscale systems: electron-hole interaction, binding energy, and photodissociation

The characteristics of nanoscale excitons--the primary excited states of nanoscale systems like conjugated polymers, molecular aggregates, carbon nanotubes, and nanocrystalline quantum dots--are examined through exploration of model systems. On the basis of a valence bond-type model, an intuition is developed for understanding and comparing nanoscale systems. In particular, electron-hole interactions are examined in detail, showing how and why they affect spectroscopy and properties such as binding energy. The relationship between the bound exciton states and the nanoscale analogue of free carriers (charge-transfer exciton states) is developed. It is shown why the electron and hole act as independent particles in this manifold of states. The outlook for the field is discussed on the basis of the picture developed in the paper, with an emphasis on exciton binding and photodissociation.

Exciton Photophysics of Carbon Nanotubes

The goal of this chapter is to review the importance of excitons to single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) optics. We have developed the presentation for both researchers in the SWNT field who want to learn more about the unusual aspects of SWNT exciton photophysics and researchers more knowledgeable about the physics of excitons, but not about SWNT physics. Excitons in SWNTs are special because graphite has two energy bands at the Fermi energy related to time-reversal symmetry and because SWNTs are actually one dimensional. This review discusses both theoretical and experimental points of view, thus aiming to provide a summary of the most important work in the field, as well as to identify open questions.

Extrinsic and intrinsic effects on the excited-state kinetics of single-walled carbon nanotubes

We characterized the photoluminescence (PL) decay of 15 different, solubilized single-walled carbon nanotubes with tube diameters that ranged from 0.7 to 1.1 nm using time-correlated single photon counting. Each nanotube species was excited resonantly at the second excited state, E2, and PL was detected at the lowest energy exciton emission, E1. In a 10 ns window, the PL decays were described well by a biexponential fitting function with two characteristic time constants, suggesting that at least two kinetically distinct relaxation processes were observed. The dominant decay component increased from 60 to 200 ps with increasing tube diameter, while the lesser component, which contributed up to 8% of the total decay, increased from 200 ps to 4.8 ns. The observation of the second, longer decay time component is examined in terms of two possible models: an extrinsic behavior that implicates sample inhomogeneity and an intrinsic process associated with interconversion between kinetically distinct bright and dark exciton states. A common conclusion from both models is that nonradiative decay controls the PL decay by a process that is diameter dependent.

Role of bright and dark excitons in the temperature-dependent photoluminescence of carbon nanotubes

We report studies of the temperature dependence of the photoluminescence efficiency of single walled carbon nanotubes which demonstrate the role of bright and dark excitons. This is determined by the energy splitting of the excitons combined with 1-D excitonic properties. The splitting of the bright and dark singlet exciton states is found to be only a few meV and is very strongly diameter dependent for diameters in the range 0.8-1.2 nm. The luminescence intensities are also found to be strongly enhanced by magnetic fields at low temperatures due to mixing of the exciton states.

Excitons in nanoscale systems

Nanoscale systems are forecast to be a means of integrating desirable attributes of molecular and bulk regimes into easily processed materials. Notable examples include plastic light-emitting devices and organic solar cells, the operation of which hinge on the formation of electronic excited states, excitons, in complex nanostructured materials. The spectroscopy of nanoscale materials reveals details of their collective excited states, characterized by atoms or molecules working together to capture and redistribute excitation. What is special about excitons in nanometre-sized materials? Here we present a cross-disciplinary review of the essential characteristics of excitons in nanoscience. Topics covered include confinement effects, localization versus delocalization, exciton binding energy, exchange interactions and exciton fine structure, exciton-vibration coupling and dynamics of excitons. Important examples are presented in a commentary that overviews the present understanding of excitons in quantum dots, conjugated polymers, carbon nanotubes and photosynthetic light-harvesting antenna complexes.

Time-domain ab initio simulation of electron and hole relaxation dynamics in a single-wall semiconducting carbon nanotube

The electron and hole relaxation in the (7, 0) zigzag carbon nanotube is simulated in time domain using a surface-hopping Kohn-Sham density functional theory. Following a photoexcitation between the second van Hove singularities, the electrons and holes decay to the Fermi level on characteristic subpicosecond time scales. Surprisingly, despite a lower density of states, the electrons relax faster than the holes. The relaxation is primarily mediated by the high-frequency longitudinal optical (LO) phonons. Hole dynamics are more complex than the electron dynamics: in addition to the LO phonons, holes couple to lower frequency breathing modes and decay over multiple time scales.

Exciton formation and annihilation during 1D impact excitation of carbon nanotubes

Near-infrared electroluminescence was recorded from unipolar single-wall carbon nanotube field-effect transistors at high drain-source voltages. High resolution spectra reveal resonant light emission originating from the radiative relaxation of excitons rather than heat dissipation. The electroluminescence is induced by only one carrier type and ascribed to 1D impact excitation. An emission quenching is also observed at high field and attributed to an exciton-exciton annihilation process and free carrier generation. The excitons' binding energy in the order of 270 meV for 1.4 nm SWNTs is inferred from the spectral features.

Excitons and many-electron effects in the optical response of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes

We report first-principles calculations of the effects of quasiparticle self-energy and electron-hole interaction on the optical properties of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes. Excitonic effects are shown to be even more important in BN nanotubes than in carbon nanotubes. Electron-hole interactions give rise to complexes of bright (and dark) excitons, which qualitatively alter the optical response. Excitons with a binding energy larger than 2 eV are found in the BN nanotubes. Moreover, unlike the carbon nanotubes, theory predicts that these exciton states are comprised of coherent supposition of transitions from several different subband pairs, giving rise to novel behaviors.

Temperature effects on femtosecond transient absorption kinetics of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

We report femtosecond transient absorption kinetics measured for selected semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes at different temperatures between 77 and 290 K. The nanotubes are embedded in a thin polymethylmethacrylate film, and the dominance of individual species enabled to probe selectively the kinetics associated with two desired tube types, the (6,5) and (7,5) tubes. A strikingly similar temperature dependence is found between the maximum change in the amplitude of transient absorption kinetics, the overall decay time and steady-state fluorescence emission intensity. The simplest explanation for our data is that the temperature dependence of the fluorescence intensity and the exciton decay kinetics are dominated by nonradiative decay and that the radiative decay rate is weakly temperature dependent.