Journal
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
Volume 133, Issue 22, Pages 8762-8771Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/ja202752s
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [CHE-0848556]
- Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) [49286-ND6]
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Chemistry [0848556] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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The size dependence of optical and electronic properties of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been extensively studied in various applications ranging from solar energy conversion to biological imaging. Core/shell QDs allow further tuning of these properties by controlling the spatial distributions of the conduction-band electron and valence-band hole wave functions through the choice of the core/shell materials and their size/thickness. It is possible to engineer type H core/shell QDs, such as CdTe/CdSe, in which the lowest energy conduction-band electron is largely localized in the shell while the lowest energy valence-band hole is localized in the Core. This spatial distribution enables ultrafast electron transfer to the surface-adsorbed electron acceptors due to enhanced electron density on the shell materials, while simultaneously retarding the charge recombination process because the shell acts as a tunneling barrier for the core localized hole. Using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy, we show that in CdTe/CdSe-anthraquinone (AQ) complexes, after the initial ultrafast (similar to 770 fs) intra-QD electron transfer from the CdTe core to the CdSe shell, the shell-localized electron is transferred to the adsorbed AQ with a half-life of 2.7 ps. The subsequent charge recombination from the reduced acceptor, AQ(-), to the hole in the CdTe core has a half-life of 92 ns. Compared to CdSe-AQ complexes, the type II band alignment in CdTe/CdSe QDs maintains similar ultrafast charge separation while retarding the charge recombination by 100-fold. This unique ultrafast charge separation and slow recombination property, coupled with longer single and multiple exciton lifetimes in type II QDs, suggests that they are ideal light-harvesting materials for solar energy conversion.
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