Chemistry - A European Journal
Chemistry - A European Journal
5 years ago

Tuning Hole and Electron Transfer from Photoexcited CdSe Quantum Dots to Phenol Derivatives: Effect of Electron-Donating and -Withdrawing Moieties

Tuning Hole and Electron Transfer from Photoexcited CdSe Quantum Dots to Phenol Derivatives: Effect of Electron-Donating and -Withdrawing Moieties
Hirendra N. Ghosh, Deepa Sebastian, Sourav Maiti, Tushar Debnath
Charge-transfer processes from photoexcited CdSe quantum dots (QDs) to phenol derivatives with electron- donating (4-methoxy) and -withdrawing (4-nitro) moieties have been demonstrated by using steady-state and time- resolved emission and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Steady-state and time-resolved emission studies suggest that in the presence of both 4-nitrophenol (4NP) and 4-methoxyphenol (4MP) CdSe QDs luminescence is quenched. Stern–Volmer analysis suggests both static and dynamic mechanisms are active for both the QD/phenol composites. Cyclic voltammetric analysis recommends that photoexcited CdSe QDs can donate electrons to 4NP and holes to 4MP. To reconfirm both electron- and hole-transfer mechanisms, CdSe/CdS quasi-type II and CdSe/CdTe type II core–shell nanocrystals were synthesized and photoluminescence quenching was monitored in the absence and presence of both 4NP and 4MP, for which hole and electron transfer were systematically restricted. Results suggest that indeed electron and hole transfer take place from photoexcited CdSe to 4NP and 4MP, respectively. To monitor the charge-transfer dynamics in both systems on an early timescale, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopic techniques have been employed. Electron and hole transfer and charge-recombination dynamics are discussed and the effect of electron-donating and -withdrawing groups has been demonstrated. A sense of direction: Electron-withdrawing 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) act as an electron quencher, whereas electron-donating 4-methoxyphenol (4-MP) acts as a hole quencher in CdSe nanocrystals (see figure). Thus, by varying the substituent in phenol, favorable energy-level alignment results in changes to the quenching behavior.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/chem.201700166

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.