Triplet Energy Transfer from PbS(Se) Nanocrystals to Rubrene: the Relationship between the Upconversion Quantum Yield and Size

Photon upconversion has attracted enormous attention due to its wide range of applications in biological imaging, photocatalysis, and especially photovoltaics. Here, the effect of quantum confinement on the efficiency of Dexter energy transfer from PbS and PbSe nanocrystals (NCs) to a rubrene acceptor is studied. A series of experiments exploring the relationship between NC size and the upconversion quantum yield (QY) in this hybrid platform show that energy transfer occurs in the Marcus normal regime. By decreasing the NC diameter from 3.5 to 2.9 nm for PbS and from 3.2 to 2.5 nm for PbSe, the relative upconversion QY is enhanced about 700 and 250-fold respectively. In addition, the dynamic Stern-Volmer constant (K-SV) for the quenching of PbSe NCs by rubrene increases approximately fivefold with a decrease in NC diameter from 3.2 to 2.5 nm to a value of 200 M-1. This work shows that high quality, well-passivated, small NCs are critical for efficient triplet energy transfer to molecular acceptors.