Epitaxial growth and photochemical annealing of graded CdS/ZnS shells on colloidal CdSe nanorods

We report the preparation and structural characterization of core/shell CdSe/CdS/ZnS nanorods. A graded shell of larger band gap is grown around CdSe rods using trioctylphosphine oxide as a surfactant. Interfacial segregation is used to preferentially deposit CdS near the core, providing relaxation of the strain at the core/shell interface. The reported synthesis allows for variation of the shell thickness between one and six monolayers, on core nanorods ranging from aspect ratios of 2:1 to 10:1. After an irreversible photochemical annealing process, the core/shell nanorods have increased quantum efficiencies and are stable in air under visible or UV excitation. In addition to their robust optical properties, these samples provide an opportunity for the study of the evolution of epitaxial strain as the shape of the core varies from nearly spherical to nearly cylindrical.     

Super Sensitization: Grand Charge (Hole/Electron) Separation in ATC Dye Sensitized CdSe,CdSe/ZnS Type‐I,and CdSe/CdTe Type‐II Core–Shell Quantum Dots

Ultrafast charge‐transfer dynamics has been demonstrated in CdSe quantum dots (QD), CdSe/ZnS type‐I core–shell, and CdSe/CdTe type‐II core–shell nanocrystals after sensitizing the QD materials by aurin tricarboxylic acid (ATC), in which CdSe QD and ATC form a charge‐transfer complex. Energy level diagrams suggest that the conduction and valence band of CdSe lies below the LUMO and the HOMO level of ATC, respectively, thus signifying that the photoexcited hole in CdSe can be transferred to ATC and that photoexcited ATC can inject electrons into CdSe QD, which has been confirmed by steady state and time‐resolved luminescence studies and also by femtosecond time‐resolved absorption measurements. The effect of shell materials (for both type‐I and type‐II) on charge‐transfer processes has been demonstrated. Electron injection in all the systems were measured to be <150 fs. However, the hole transfer time varied from 900 fs to 6 ps depending on the type of materials. The hole‐transfer process was found to be most efficient in CdSe QD. On the other hand, it has been found to be facilitated in CdSe/CdTe type‐II and retarded in CdSe/ZnS type‐I core–shell materials. Interestingly, electron injection from photoexcited ATC to both CdSe/CdTe type‐II and CdSe/ZnS type‐I core–shell has been found to be more efficient as compared to pure CdSe QD. Our observation suggests the potential of quantum dot core–shell super sensitizers for developing more efficient quantum dot solar cells.     

Intraband spectroscopy and band offsets of colloidal II-VI core/shell structures

The interband and intraband spectra of colloidal II-VI CdS and CdSe quantum dot cores and CdSZnSe, CdSCdSe, CdSeCdS, and CdSeZnSe core/shell systems are reported. Infrared absorption peaks between 0.5 and 0.2 eV are observed. The slope of the intraband energy versus the first interband absorption feature is characteristic of the relative band alignments of the materials constituting the core and the shell and it is analyzed within an effective mass model. The analysis provides a new estimate of the band gap of zinc blende CdSe as well as the band offsets in zinc blende and wurtzite CdSe, CdS, and ZnSe.     

Temperature dependent spectral properties of type-I and quasi type-II CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod nanocrystals

We investigated systematically the temperature dependence of the spectral properties such as the band gap, bandwidth and fluorescence intensity of CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod nanocrystals. These asymmetry nanoparticles were synthesized by seeded growth techniques with band alignment of the type-I and quasi type-II with initial core sizes of 3.3 and 2.3 nm, respectively. With increasing temperature the band gap decreases and bandwidth increases, largely due to exciton-phonon scattering. Anomalous variations of the band gap and bandwidth were observed at 200-240 K, and the variations are attributed to the anisotropic strain in the CdSe/CdS interface due to temperature dependent lattice mismatch. The integrated intensity of fluorescence shows two variation regimes. In the low temperature regime, the intensity remained roughly constant due to the temperature dependent carrier mobility and trapping by the defect states in the CdS shell. However, in the higher temperature regime, the intensity decreased quickly due to thermal/phonon assisted escape from the CdSe dot. The barrier depths are estimated to be about 557 and 285 meV for type-I and quasi type-II samples, respectively.     

Solution-based II-VI core/shell nanowire heterostructures

We demonstrate the solution-phase synthesis of CdS/CdSe, CdSe/CdS, and CdSe/ZnTe core/shell nanowires (NWs). On the basis of bulk band offsets, type-I and type-II heterostructures are made, contributing to the further development of low-dimensional heteroassemblies using solution-phase chemistry. Core/shell wires are prepared by slowly introducing shell precursors into a solution of premade core NWs dispersed in a noncoordinating solvent at moderate temperatures (215-250 degrees C). Resulting heterostructures are characterized through low- and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. From these experiments, initial shell growth appears to occur through either Stranski-Krastanov or Volmer-Weber island growth. However, beyond a critical shell thickness, nucleation of randomly oriented nanocrystals results in a polycrystalline coat. In cases where overcoating has been achieved, corresponding elemental analyses show spatially varying compositions along the NW radial direction in agreement with expected element ratios. Electronic interactions between the core and shell were subsequently probed through optical studies involving UV-vis extinction spectroscopy, photoluminescence experiments, and transient differential absorption spectroscopy. In particular, transient differential absorption studies reveal unexpected shell-induced changes in core NW Auger kinetics at high carrier densities. Previously seen three-carrier Auger kinetics in CdS (bimolecular in CdSe) NWs were suppressed by the presence of a CdSe (CdS) shell. These observations suggest the ability to influence NW optical/electrical properties by coating them with a surrounding shell, a method which could be important for future NW optical studies as well as for NW-based applications.     

水溶性的CdSe/CdS/ZnS量子点的合成及表征

用L-半胱氨酸盐(Cys)作为稳定剂,合成了水溶性的双壳结构的CdSe/CdS/ZnS半导体量子点。吸收光谱和荧光光谱结果表明,双壳结构的CdSe/CdS/ZnS纳米微粒比单一的CdSe核纳米粒子和单核壳结构的CdSe/CdS纳米粒子具有更优异的发光特性。用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、ED、XRD、XPS和FTIR等方法对CdSe核和双壳层的CdSe/CdS/ZnS纳米微粒的结构、分散性及形貌分别进行了表征。     

Highly Stable CdSe/CdS/ZnS Fluorophores in Acidic Environment: Acile Preparation and Modification of Core/shell/shell Nanocrystals

We described a facile method for preparing CdSe/CdS/ZnS core/shell/shell nanocrystals from air-stable single source precursors.The single source precursors of cadmium ethylxanthate and zinc ethylxanthate were used to form CdS and ZnS shell layers in octadecene.An efficient modification of CdSe/CdS/ZnS nanocrystals was subsequently performed to obtain hydrophilic nanocrystal fluorophores with good stability in a pH range of 1.6-10.     

Aqueous synthesis of glutathione-capped CdTe/CdS/ZnS and CdTe/CdSe/ZnS core/shell/shell nanocrystal heterostructures

Here we demonstrate the aqueous synthesis of colloidal nanocrystal heterostructures consisting of the CdTe core encapsulated by CdS/ZnS or CdSe/ZnS shells using glutathione (GSH), a tripeptide, as the capping ligand. The inner CdTe/CdS and CdTe/CdSe heterostructures have type-I, quasi-type-II, or type-II band offsets depending on the core size and shell thickness, and the outer CdS/ZnS and CdSe/ZnS structures have type-I band offsets. The emission maxima of the assembled heterostructures were found to be dependent on the CdTe core size, with a wider range of spectral tunability observed for the smaller cores. Because of encapsulation effects, the formation of successive shells resulted in a considerable increase in the photoluminescence quantum yield; however, identifying optimal shell thicknesses was required to achieve the maximum quantum yield. Photoluminescence lifetime measurements revealed that the decrease in the quantum yield of thick-shell nanocrystals was caused by a substantial decrease in the radiative rate constant. By tuning the diameter of the core and the thickness of each shell, a broad range of high quantum yield (up to 45%) nanocrystal heterostructures with emission ranging from visible to NIR wavelengths (500-730 nm) were obtained. This versatile route to engineering the optical properties of nanocrystal heterostructures will provide new opportunities for applications in bioimaging and biolabeling.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of one-dimensional ZnO/CdS core/shell nanocomposites

One-dimensional ZnO/CdS core/shell nanocomposite was successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method utilizing ZnO nanorods, sulfur powder and cadmium salts as precursors. The influence of experimental parameters, such as cadmium precursors, concentration, and reaction temperature on the formation of such core/shell structures was examined. The photoluminescence characterization data of ZnO/CdS suggested that the photogenerated electron transferred from the conduction band of CdS to the conduction band of ZnO and leaded to the blue shift of band-to-band transition (Burstein-Moss effect). The article is published in the original.     

Large-scale synthesis of nearly monodisperse CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals using air-stable reagents via successive ion layer adsorption and reaction

Successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) originally developed for the deposition of thin films on solid substrates from solution baths is introduced as a technique for the growth of high-quality core/shell nanocrystals of compound semiconductors. The growth of the shell was designed to grow one monolayer at a time by alternating injections of air-stable and inexpensive cationic and anionic precursors into the reaction mixture with core nanocrystals. The principles of SILAR were demonstrated by the CdSe/CdS core/shell model system using its shell-thickness-dependent optical spectra as the probes with CdO and elemental S as the precursors. For this reaction system, a relatively high temperature, about 220-240 degrees C, was found to be essential for SILAR to fully occur. The synthesis can be readily performed on a multigram scale. The size distribution of the core/shell nanocrystals was maintained even after five monolayers of CdS shell (equivalent to about 10 times volume increase for a 3.5 nm CdSe nanocrystal) were grown onto the core nanocrystals. The epitaxial growth of the core/shell structures was verified by optical spectroscopy, TEM, XRD, and XPS. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) of the as-prepared CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals ranged from 20% to 40%, and the PL full-width at half-maximum (fwhm) was maintained between 23 and 26 nm, even for those nanocrystals for which the UV-vis and PL peaks red-shifted by about 50 nm from that of the core nanocrystals. Several types of brightening phenomena were observed, some of which can further boost the PL QY of the core/shell nanocrystals. The CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals were found to be superior in comparison to the highly luminescent CdSe plain core nanocrystals. The SILAR technique reported here can also be used for the growth of complex colloidal semiconductor nanostructures, such as quantum shells and colloidal quantum wells.     

水溶性CdSe/CdS核壳纳米粒子制备的影响因素及其对CdSe/CdS光谱特性的影响

以半胱氨酸镉配合物为前体, 在水溶液中合成CdSe纳米粒子, 以CdS对其表面进行修饰, 得到具有核壳结构的CdSe/CdS 纳米粒子. 采用XRD, TEM表征其结构及形貌; 以荧光光谱研究了时间、pH值、壳量、壳前体加入方式、稳定剂用量等因素对CdSe/CdS光谱特性的影响.     

Band-edge ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy of core/shell CdSe/CdS rods: assessing electron delocalization by effective mass calculations

CdSe/CdS dot/rods nanocrystals show interesting physical properties related to the band-alignment at the hetero-interface, which controls the band-edge electron delocalization over the rods. Here the differential transmission spectra of CdSe/CdS nanorod samples with different core sizes have been measured using excitation resonant to the core transition. The photo bleaching ratio between dot and rod transitions increases with the dot size, indicating a trend towards electron localization. This trend has been further quantified by performing effective mass calculations in which the conduction band misalignment was varied in order to reproduce the observed bleaching feature ratio. The best agreement was found for negligible conduction band misalignment for small dots of around 2.3 nm in diameter, and about -0.1 eV misalignment was estimated for the larger dots, above 3.5 nm in diameter. This shows that the band misalignment might be dependent on the geometry of the system, and we argue that this might be related to different strain developed at the hetero-interface.     

Different Mixing Types CdSe‐CdS Nanocomposites

The optical properties of 2 mixing types of CdS‐CdSe nanoparticles (i.e., coprecipitated CdS‐CdSe nanoparticles, CdS‐coated CdSe (CdSe/CdS)) were studied. Results indicated that the co‐precipitated nanoparticles kept the similar optical properties of both CdS and CdSe's, while the CdS/CdSe core‐shell structure showed totally different optical properties from the simple components. We paid special attention to the core/shell structure, as the core‐shell structure showed a better passivating effect. Therefore, the XRD and TEM were tested on the core‐shell structure. XRD results showed that the diffraction patterns of core‐shell structure were roughly the same as their simple components. And the TEM indicated the core‐shell structure had a uniform dispersion in the solution.     

水溶性CdSe/CdS纳米晶合成条件的优化研究

以巯基乙醇为修饰剂,在水溶液中合成了稳定的CdSe/CdS纳米晶,应用单因素法和多目标单纯形法探索合成条件。通过透射电镜观察所合成的纳米晶的形貌和大小,用紫外-可见吸收光谱和荧光光谱对其光学特性进行了表征。并且以L-色氨酸荧光量子产率0.14为标准,测量了合成的CdSe/CdS纳米晶的荧光量子产率为0.37。     

Type-II core/shell CdS/ZnSe nanocrystals: synthesis, electronic structures, and spectroscopic properties

We report a two-step synthesis of highly luminescent CdS/ZnSe core/shell nanocrystals (emission quantum yields up to 50%) that can produce efficient spatial separation of electrons and holes between the core and the shell (type-II localization regime). Our synthesis involves fabrication of cubic-singony CdS core particles that are subsequently overcoated with a layer of ZnSe in the presence of surfactant-ligands in a noncoordinating solvent. Studies of different growth regime of the ZnSe shell indicate that one approach to obtaining high emission efficiencies is through alloying the CdS/ZnSe interface with CdSe, which leads to the formation of an intermediate ZnCdSe layer with a graded composition. We perform theoretical modeling of these core/shell nanocrystals using effective mass approximation and applying first-order perturbation theory for treating both direct electron-hole coupling and the core/shell interface-polarization effects. Using this model we determine the range of geometrical parameters of the core/shell structures that result in a type-II localization regime. We further applied this model to evaluate the degree of electron-hole spatial separation (quantified in terms of the electron-hole overlap integral) based on measured emission wavelengths. We also discuss the potential applicability of these nanocrystals in lasing technologies and specifically the possibility of single-exciton optical gain in type-II nanostructures.     

Laser Assisted Catalytic Growth of ZnS/CdSe Core‐Shell and Wire‐Coil Nanowire Heterostructures

ZnS/CdSe core‐shell and wire‐coil nanowire heterostructures have been synthesized by chemical vapor deposition assisted with pulsed laser ablation. Measurements from high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction have revealed that both ZnS/CdSe core‐shell and wire‐coil nanowires are of single‐crystalline hexagonal wurtzite structures and grow along the [0001] direction. While the lattice parameters of ZnS and CdSe in the core‐shell nanowires are nearly equal to those of bulk ZnS and CdSe, change of the lattice parameters in the CdSe‐coil is attributed to the doping of Zn into CdSe, resulting in the relaxation of compressive strain at the interface between CdSe‐coil and ZnS‐wire. Composition variation across the interfacial regions in the ZnS/CdSe nanowire heterostructures ranges only 10–15 nm despite the pronounced lattice mismatch between ZnS and CdSe by ?11%. Growth mechanisms of the ZnS/CdSe nanowire heterostructures are discussed.     

Preparation and application of L-cysteine-modified CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals as a novel fluorescence probe for detection of nucleic acid

The water-soluble L-cysteine-modified CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals (expressed as CdSe/CdS/Cys nanocrystals) have been synthesized in aqueous by using L-cysteine as stabilizer. The size, shape, component and spectral property of CdSe/CdS/Cys nanocrystals were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDX), infrared spectrum (IR) and photoluminescence (PL). The results showed that the spherical CdSe/CdS/Cys nanocrystals with an average diameter of 2.3 nm have favorable fluorescent property, theirs photostability and fluorescence intensity are enhanced greatly after overcoating with CdS. The cysteine modified on the surface of core/shell CdSe/CdS nanocrystals renders the nanocrystals water-soluble and biocompatible. Based on the fluorescence quenching of the nanocrystals in the presence of calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid (ct-DNA), a fluorescence quenching method has been developed for the determination of ct-DNA by using the nanocrystals as a novel fluorescence probe. The pH value of the system was selected at pH 7.4, with excitation and emission wavelength at 380 and 522 nm, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the fluorescence quenching intensity of the system is linear with the concentration of ct-DNA in the range of 0.1-3.5 microg/mL (r=0.9987). The detection limit is 0.06 microg/mL. And two synthetic samples were analyzed satisfactorily.     

聚吡咯/硫化镉核壳纳米线的制备及整流特性

以无机多孔氧化铝膜为模板,利用气相沉积和原位电化学沉积方法成功地制备了有机-无机杂化聚吡咯/硫化镉核壳纳米线;采用扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜分析了聚吡咯/硫化镉核壳纳米线的表面形貌和微结构.结果表明,内部的聚吡咯纳米线紧紧依附在外部的硫化镉纳米管中,并且硫化镉纳米管被聚吡咯全部填充.与此同时,在聚吡咯/硫化镉核壳纳米线中,外部硫化镉壳与内部聚吡咯核之间存在电荷转移;聚吡咯和硫化镉之间形成有机-无机杂化的P-N界面,从而导致单根聚吡咯/硫化镉核壳纳米线显示出不同于外部壳和内部核的整流特性.     

ZnO-CdSe nanoparticle clusters as directional photoemitters with tunable wavelength

Reaction of 3-aminopropylsilyl-modified ZnO microrods with trioctylphosphineoxide-coated CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals in THF produces rod-shaped nanoparticle clusters that show directional photoemission that can be tuned with the size of the CdSe nanocrystals. The observed waveguiding effect of these microstructures is due to total internal reflection of light at the cluster-air interface.     

Correlating Charge-Carrier Dynamics with Efficiency in Quantum-Dot Solar Cells: Can Excitonics Lead to Highly Efficient Devices?

The photovoltaic performance of quantum-dot solar cells strongly depends on the charge-carrier relaxation and recombination processes, which need to be modulated in a favorable way to obtain maximum efficiency. Recently, significant efforts have been devoted to investigate the carrier dynamics of nanocrystal sensitizers, both in solution and deposited on TiO₂ photoanodes, with the aim to correlate the excitonics with solar-energy conversion efficiency. This Minireview summarizes some proof of the concepts that efficiency can be directly correlated to the exciton dynamics of quantum-dot solar cells. The presented findings are based on CdSeS alloy, CdSe/CdS core/shell, Au/CdSe nanohybrids, and Mn-doped CdZnSSe nanocrystals, where the favourable excitonic processes are optimized to enhance the efficiency. Future prospects and limitations are addressed as well.