The Impact of Chalcogenide Ligands on the Photoexcited States of Cadmium Chalcogenide Quantum Dots

Quantum dots (QDs) are the foundation of many optoelectronic devices because their optical and electronic properties are synthetically tunable. The inherent connection between synthetically controllable physical parameters, such as size, shape, and surface chemistry, and QD electronic properties provides flexibility in manipulating excited states. The properties of the ligands that passivate the QD surface and provide such synthetic control, however, are quite different from those that are beneficial for use in optoelectronic devices. In these applications, ligands that promote charge transfer are desired. To this end, significant research efforts have focused on post-synthetic ligand exchange to shorter, more conductive ligand species. Surface ligand identity, however, is a physical parameter intimately tied to QD excited state behavior in addition to charge transfer. A particularly interesting group of ligands, due to the extraordinarily thin ligand shell they create around the QD, are the chalcogenides S2-, Se2-, and Te2-. While promising, little is known about how these chalcogenide ligands affect QD photoexcited states. This dissertation focuses on the impact of chalcogenide ligands on the excited state dynamics of cadmium chalcogenide QDs and associated implications for charge transfer. This is accomplished through a combination of theoretical (Chapters 2, 3, and 6) and experimental (Chapters 2, 4, 5 and 6) methods. We establish a theoretical foundation for describing chalcogenide capped QD photoexcited states and measure the dynamics of these excited states using transient absorption spectroscopy. The presented results highlight the drastic effects surface modification can have on QD photoexcited state dynamics and provide insights for more informed design of optoelectronic systems

Comparison of Phonon Damping Behavior in Quantum Dots Capped with Organic and Inorganic Ligands

Surface ligand modification of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals has been widely used as a means of controlling photoexcited-state generation, relaxation, and coupling to the environment. While progress has been made in understanding how surface ligand modification affects the behavior of electronic states, less is known about the influence of surface ligand modification on phonon behavior, which impacts relaxation dynamics and transport phenomena. In this work, we compare the dynamics of optical and acoustic phonons in CdTe quantum dots (QDs), CdTe/CdSe core/shell QDs capped with octadecylphosphonic acid ligands, and CdTe QDs capped with Se^2– to ascertain how ligand exchange from native aliphatic ligands to single-atom Se^2– ligands affects phonon behavior. We use transient absorption spectroscopy and observe modulations in the kinetics of excited-state decay due to QD lattice vibrations from both optical and acoustic phonons, which we describe using the damped oscillator model. The longitudinal optical phonons have similar frequencies and damping behavior in all three samples. In contrast, the longitudinal acoustic phonon mode in the Se^2–-capped CdTe QDs is severely damped, much more so than in CdTe and CdTe/CdSe QDs capped with the native aliphatic ligands. We attribute these differences in the acoustic phonon behavior to the differences in how the QD dissipates vibrational energy to its surroundings as a function of ligand identity. Our results indicate that these inorganic surface-capping ligands enhance not only the electronic but also the mechanical coupling of nanocrystals with their environment

Chalcogenide-Ligand Passivated CdTe Quantum Dots Can Be Treated as Core/Shell Semiconductor Nanostructures

Chalcogenide ligands (S^2–, Se^2–, Te^2–) are attractive candidates for passivation of surfaces of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) because they can enhance interparticle or particle–adsorbate electronic coupling. Devices made with QDs in which insulating long-chain aliphatic ligands were replaced with chalcogenide ligands have exhibited improved charge transfer and transport characteristics. While these ligands enable promising device performance, their impact on the electronic structure of the QDs that they passivate is not understood. In this work, we describe significant (up to 250 meV) changes in band gap energies of CdTe QDs that occur when native aliphatic ligands are replaced with chalcogenides. These changes are dependent on the ligand and the particle size. To explain the observed changes in band gap energies, we used the single band effective mass approximation to model the ligand layer as a thin shell of Cd-chalcogenide formed by the bonding of chalcogenide ligands to partially coordinated Cd surface atoms. The model correctly predicted the observed trends in CdTe QD band gap energies. The model also predicts that electrons and holes in chalcogenide-capped QDs can be significantly delocalized outside the core/shell structure, enhancing electronic coupling between QDs and adjacent species. Our work provides a simple description of the electronic structure of chalcogenide-capped QDs and may prove useful for the design of QD-based devices

Impact of Chalcogenide Ligands on Excited State Dynamics in CdSe Quantum Dots

The ligands that passivate the surfaces of semiconductor nanocrystals play an important role in excited state relaxation and charge transfer. Replacement of native long-chain organic ligands with chalcogenides has been shown to improve charge transfer in nanocrystal-based devices. In this report, we examine how surface-capping with S^2–, Se^2–, and Te^2– impacts photoexcited state relaxation in CdSe quantum dots (QDs). We use transient absorption spectroscopy with state-specific pumping to reveal the kinetics of electron and hole cooling, band edge electron relaxation, hole trapping, and trapped hole relaxation, all as a function of surface-capping ligand. We find that carrier cooling is not strongly dependent on the ligand. In contrast, band edge relaxation exhibits strong ligand dependence, with enhanced electron trapping in chalcogenide-capped QDs. This effect is the weakest with the S^2– ligand, but is very strong with Se^2– and Te^2–, such that the average band edge electron lifetimes for QDs capped with those ligands are under 100 ps. We conclude that, unlike the case of S^2–, improvements in electron transfer rates with Se^2– and Te^2– ligands may be overshadowed by the extreme electron lifetime shortening that may lead to low quantum yields of electron transfer

(Ga_1–<i>x</i>Zn_<i>x</i>)(N_1–<i>x</i>O_<i>x</i>) Nanocrystals: Visible Absorbers with Tunable Composition and Absorption Spectra

Bulk oxy­(nitride) (Ga_1–<i>x</i>Zn_<i>x</i>)­(N_1–<i>x</i>O_<i>x</i>) is a promising photocatalyst for water splitting under visible illumination. To realize its solar harvesting potential, it is desirable to minimize its band gap through synthetic control of the value of <i>x</i>. Furthermore, improved photochemical quantum yields may be achievable with nanocrystalline forms of this material. We report the synthesis, structural, and optical characterization of nanocrystals of (Ga_1–<i>x</i>Zn_<i>x</i>)­(N_1–<i>x</i>O_<i>x</i>) with the values of <i>x</i> tunable from 0.30 to 0.87. Band gaps decreased from 2.7 to 2.2 eV over this composition range, which corresponded to a 260% increase in the fraction of solar photons that could be absorbed by the material. We achieved nanoscale morphology and compositional control by employing mixtures of ZnGa₂O₄ and ZnO nanocrystals as synthetic precursors that could be converted to (Ga_1–<i>x</i>Zn_<i>x</i>)­(N_1–<i>x</i>O_<i>x</i>) under NH₃. The high quality of the resulting nanocrystals is encouraging for achieving photochemical water-splitting rates that are competitive with internal carrier recombination pathways

Solvents effects on charge transfer from quantum dots.

To predict and understand the performance of nanodevices in different environments, the influence of the solvent must be explicitly understood. In this Communication, this important but largely unexplored question is addressed through a comparison of quantum dot charge transfer processes occurring in both liquid phase and in vacuum. By comparing solution phase transient absorption spectroscopy and gas-phase photoelectron spectroscopy, we show that hexane, a common nonpolar solvent for quantum dots, has negligible influence on charge transfer dynamics. Our experimental results, supported by insights from theory, indicate that the reorganization energy of nonpolar solvents plays a minimal role in the energy landscape of charge transfer in quantum dot devices. Thus, this study demonstrates that measurements conducted in nonpolar solvents can indeed provide insight into nanodevice performance in a wide variety of environments

Solvents Effects on Charge Transfer from Quantum Dots

To predict and understand the performance of nanodevices in different environments, the influence of the solvent must be explicitly understood. In this Communication, this important but largely unexplored question is addressed through a comparison of quantum dot charge transfer processes occurring in both liquid phase and in vacuum. By comparing solution phase transient absorption spectroscopy and gas-phase photoelectron spectroscopy, we show that hexane, a common nonpolar solvent for quantum dots, has negligible influence on charge transfer dynamics. Our experimental results, supported by insights from theory, indicate that the reorganization energy of nonpolar solvents plays a minimal role in the energy landscape of charge transfer in quantum dot devices. Thus, this study demonstrates that measurements conducted in nonpolar solvents can indeed provide insight into nanodevice performance in a wide variety of environments

Materials Properties and Solvated Electron Dynamics of Isolated Nanoparticles and Nanodroplets Probed with Ultrafast Extreme Ultraviolet Beams

We present ultrafast photoemission measurements of isolated nanoparticles in vacuum using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light produced through high harmonic generation. Surface-selective static EUV photoemission measurements were performed on nanoparticles with a wide array of compositions, ranging from ionic crystals to nanodroplets of organic material. We find that the total photoelectron yield varies greatly with nanoparticle composition and provides insight into material properties such as the electron mean free path and effective mass. Additionally, we conduct time-resolved photoelectron yield measurements of isolated oleylamine nanodroplets, observing that EUV photons can create solvated electrons in liquid nanodroplets. Using photoemission from a time-delayed 790 nm pulse, we observe that a solvated electron is produced in an excited state and subsequently relaxes to its ground state with a lifetime of 151 ± 31 fs. This work demonstrates that femotosecond EUV photoemission is a versatile surface-sensitive probe of the properties and ultrafast dynamics of isolated nanoparticles

Mapping Nanoscale Absorption of Femtosecond Laser Pulses Using Plasma Explosion Imaging

We make direct observations of localized light absorption in a single nanostructure irradiated by a strong femtosecond laser field, by developing and applying a technique that we refer to as plasma explosion imaging. By imaging the photoion momentum distribution resulting from plasma formation in a laser-irradiated nanostructure, we map the spatial location of the highly localized plasma and thereby image the nanoscale light absorption. Our method probes individual, isolated nanoparticles in vacuum, which allows us to observe how small variations in the composition, shape, and orientation of the nanostructures lead to vastly different light absorption. Here, we study four different nanoparticle samples with overall dimensions of ∼100 nm and find that each sample exhibits distinct light absorption mechanisms despite their similar size. Specifically, we observe subwavelength focusing in single NaCl crystals, symmetric absorption in TiO₂ aggregates, surface enhancement in dielectric particles containing a single gold nanoparticle, and interparticle hot spots in dielectric particles containing multiple smaller gold nanoparticles. These observations demonstrate how plasma explosion imaging directly reveals the diverse ways in which nanoparticles respond to strong laser fields, a process that is notoriously challenging to model because of the rapid evolution of materials properties that takes place on the femtosecond time scale as a solid nanostructure is transformed into a dense plasma