| 1. |
- Gray, Victor, Dr, 1988-, et al.
(author)
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Ligand-Directed Self-Assembly of Organic-Semiconductor/Quantum-Dot Blend Films Enables Efficient Triplet Exciton-Photon Conversion
- 2024
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In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0002-7863 .- 1520-5126. ; 146:11, s. 7763-7770
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Blends comprising organic semiconductors and inorganic quantum dots (QDs) are relevant for many optoelectronic applications and devices. However, the individual components in organic-QD blends have a strong tendency to aggregate and phase-separate during film processing, compromising both their structural and electronic properties. Here, we demonstrate a QD surface engineering approach using electronically active, highly soluble semiconductor ligands that are matched to the organic semiconductor host material to achieve well-dispersed inorganic-organic blend films, as characterized by X-ray and neutron scattering, and electron microscopies. This approach preserves the electronic properties of the organic and QD phases and also creates an optimized interface between them. We exemplify this in two emerging applications, singlet-fission-based photon multiplication (SF-PM) and triplet-triplet annihilation-based photon upconversion (TTA-UC). Steady-state and time-resolved optical spectroscopy shows that triplet excitons can be transferred with near unity efficiently across the organic-inorganic interface, while the organic films maintain efficient SF (190% yield) in the organic phase. By changing the relative energy between organic and inorganic components, yellow upconverted emission is observed upon 790 nm NIR excitation. Overall, we provide a highly versatile approach to overcome longstanding challenges in the blending of organic semiconductors with QDs that have relevance for many optical and optoelectronic applications.
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| 2. |
- Toolan, Daniel T. W., et al.
(author)
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Insights into the Structure and Self-Assembly of Organic-Semiconductor/Quantum-Dot Blends
- 2022
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In: Advanced Functional Materials. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1616-301X .- 1616-3028. ; 32:13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Controlling the dispersibility of crystalline inorganic quantum dots (QD) within organic-QD nanocomposite films is critical for a wide range of optoelectronic devices. A promising way to control nanoscale structure in these nanocomposites is via the use of appropriate organic ligands on the QD, which help to compatibilize them with the organic host, both electronically and structurally. Here, using combined small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, the authors demonstrate and quantify the incorporation of such a compatibilizing, electronically active, organic semiconductor ligand species into the native oleic acid ligand envelope of lead sulphide, QDs, and how this ligand loading may be easily controlled. Further more, in situ grazing incidence wide/small angle X-ray scattering demonstrate how QD ligand surface chemistry has a pronounced effect on the self-assembly of the nanocomposite film in terms of both small-molecule crystallization and QD dispersion versus ordering/aggregation. The approach demonstrated here shows the important role which the degree of incorporation of an active ligand, closely related in chemical structure to the host small-molecule organic matrix, plays in both the self-assembly of the QD and small-molecule components and in determining the final optoelectronic properties of the system.
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| 3. |
- Toolan, Daniel T. W., et al.
(author)
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Linking microscale morphologies to localised performance in singlet fission quantum dot photon multiplier thin films
- 2022
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In: Journal of Materials Chemistry C. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2050-7526 .- 2050-7534. ; 10:31, s. 11192-11198
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hybrid small-molecule/quantum dot films have the potential to reduce thermalization losses in single-junction photovoltaics as photon multiplication devices. Here grazing incidence X-ray scattering, optical microscopy and IR fluorescence microscopy (probing materials at two distinct wavelengths), provide new insight into highly complex morphologies across nm and mu m lengthscales to provide direct links between morphologies and photon multiplication performance. Results show that within the small molecule crystallites three different QD morphologies may be identified; (i) large quantum dot aggregates at the crystallite nucleus, (ii) relatively well-dispersed quantum dots and (iii) as aggregated quantum dots "swept" from the growing crystallite and that regions containing aggregate quantum dot features lead to relatively poor photon multiplication performance. These results establish how combinations of scattering and microscopy may be employed to reveal new insights into the structure and function of small molecule:quantum dot blends.
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| 4. |
- Weir, Michael P., et al.
(author)
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Ligand Shell Structure in Lead Sulfide–Oleic Acid Colloidal Quantum Dots Revealed by Small-Angle Scattering
- 2019
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In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7185. ; 10:16, s. 4713-4719
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nanocrystal quantum dots are generally coated with an organic ligand layer. These layers are a necessary consequence of their chemical synthesis, and in addition they play a key role in controlling the optical and electronic properties of the system. Here we describe a method for quantitative measurement of the ligand layer in 3 nm diameter lead sulfide–oleic acid quantum dots. Complementary small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering (SAXS and SANS) studies give a complete and quantitative picture of the nanoparticle structure. We find greater-than-monolayer coverage of oleic acid and a significant proportion of ligand remaining in solution, and we demonstrate reversible thermal cycling of the oleic acid coverage. We outline the effectiveness of simple purification procedures with applications in preparing dots for efficient ligand exchange. Our method is transferrable to a wide range of colloidal nanocrystals and ligand chemistries, providing the quantitative means to enable the rational design of ligand-exchange procedures.
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