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