Prototropic Interactions of Pyrimidine Nucleic Acid Bases with Acridine: A Spectroscopic Investigation

Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Assisted Enhancement in Optoelectronic Properties of Metal Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals

Regulated excited state energy and charge transfer play a pivotal role in nanoscale semiconductor device performance for efficient energy harvesting and optoelectronic applications. Herein, we report the influence of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) on the excited-state dynamics and charge transport properties of metal halide perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs), CsPbBr₃, and its anion-exchanged counterpart CsPbCl₃ with CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs). We report a drop in the FRET efficiency from ∼85% (CsPbBr₃) to ∼5% (CsPbCl₃) with QDs, inviting significant alteration in their charge transport properties. Using two-probe measurements we report substantial enhancement in the current for the blend structure of PNCs with QDs, originating from the reduced trap sites, compared to that of the pristine PNCs. The FRET-based upshot in the conduction mechanism with features of negative differential resistance and negligible hysteresis for CsPbBr₃ PNCs can add new directions to high performance-based photovoltaics and optoelectronics.

Tunable Conductance of MoS2 and WS2 Quantum Dots by Electron Transfer with Redox-Active Quinone

Due to their uniqueness in tunable photophysics, transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) based quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as the next-generation quantum materials for technology-based semiconductor applications. This demands frontline research on the rational synthesis of the TMD QDs with controlled shape, size, nature of charge migration at the interface, and their easy integration in optoelectronic devices. In this article, with a controlled solution-processed synthesis of MoS₂ and WS₂ QDs, we demonstrate the disparity in their structural, optical, and electrical characteristics in bulk and confinement. With a series of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic measurements in different media, we explore the uncommon photophysics of MoS₂ and WS₂ QDs such as excitation-dependent photoluminescence and assess their excited state charge transfer kinetics with a redox-active biomolecule, menadione (MQ). In comparison to the homogeneous aqueous medium, photoinduced charge transfer between the QDs and MQ becomes more plausible in encapsulated cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles. Current sensing atomic force microscopy (CS-AFM) measurements at a single molecular level reveal that the facilitated charge transfer of QDs with MQ strongly correlates with an enhancement in their charge transport behavior. An increase in charge transport further depends on the density of states of the QDs directing a change in Schottky emission to Fowler-Nordheim (FN) type of tunneling across the metal-QD-metal junction. The selective response of the TMD QDs while in proximity to external molecules can be used to design advanced optoelectronic devices and applications involving rectifiers and tunnel diodes for future quantum technology.

Metal nanoparticle alters adenine induced charge transfer kinetics of vitamin K3 in magnetic field

In this article, we highlight the alterations in the photoinduced electron transfer (ET) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) pathways between an anti-tumor drug vitamin-K3 (MQ) and a nucleobase adenine (ADN) in the presence of gold (Au) and iron (Fe) nanoparticles (NPs). Inside the confined micellar media, with laser flash photolysis corroborated with an external magnetic field (MF), we have detected the transient geminate radicals of MQ and ADN, photo-generated through ET and HAT. We observe that the presence of AuNP on the MQ-ADN complex (^AuMQ-ADN) assists HAT by limiting the ET channel, on the other hand, FeNP on the MQ-ADN complex (^FeMQ-ADN) mostly favors a facile PET. We hypothesize that through selective interactions of the ADN molecules with AuNP and MQ molecules with FeNP, a preferential HAT and PET process is eased. The enhanced HAT and PET have been confirmed by the escape yields of radical intermediates by time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy in the presence of MF.

Measurements of single nucleotide electronic states as nanoelectronic fingerprints for identification of DNA nucleobases, their protonated and unprotonated states, isomers, and tautomers

Several nanoelectronic techniques have been explored to distinguish the sequence of nucleic acids in DNA macromolecules. Identification of unique electronic signatures using nanopore conductance, tunneling spectroscopy, or other nanoelectronic techniques depends on electronic states of the DNA nucleotides. While several experimental and computational studies have focused on interaction of nucleobases with different substrates, the effect of nucleic acid biochemistry on its electronic properties has been largely unexplored. Here, we present correlated measurements of frontier molecular orbitals and higher-order electronic states for four DNA nucleobases (adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine), and first-principle quantum chemical density functional theoretical (DFT) computations. Using different pH conditions in our experiments, we show that small changes in the biochemical state of these nucleic acids strongly affect the intrinsic electronic structure, measured using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). In our experimental measurements and computations, significant differences were observed between the position of frontier orbitals and higher-energy states between protonated and unprotonated nucleic acids, isomers, and different keto-enol tautomer's formed in these nucleotides, leading to their facile identification. Furthermore, we show unique "electronic fingerprints" for all nucleotides (A, G, T, C) using STS, with most distinct states identified at acidic pH. These results can have important implications for identification of nucleic acid sequences in DNA molecules using a high-throughput nanoelectronic identification technique.