Ultrafast spectroscopy studies of carrier dynamics in semiconductor nanocrystals

Joseph D Keene; Nathaniel J Freymeyer; James R McBride; Sandra J Rosenthal

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.103831

Ultrafast spectroscopy studies of carrier dynamics in semiconductor nanocrystals

iScience. 2022 Feb 1;25(2):103831. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103831. eCollection 2022 Feb 18.

Authors

Joseph D Keene¹, Nathaniel J Freymeyer^{2

3}, James R McBride^{2

3}, Sandra J Rosenthal^{2

4

5

6

7

3

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Mercer University, Macon, GA 31207, USA.
² Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
³ Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
⁴ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
⁵ Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
⁶ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
⁷ Department of Materials Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
⁸ Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.

Abstract

Semiconductor nanocrystals have become ubiquitous both in scientific research and in applied technologies related to light. When a nanocrystal absorbs a photon an electron-hole pair is created whose fate dictates whether the nanocrystal will be suitable for a particular application. Ultrafast spectroscopy provides a real-time window to monitor the evolution of the electron-hole pair. In this review, we focus on CdSe nanocrystals, the most-studied nanocrystal system to date, and also highlight ultrasmall nanocrystals, "standard nanocrystals" of different binary composition, alloyed nanocrystals, and core/shell nanocrystals and nanorods. We focus on four time-resolved spectroscopies used to interrogate nanocrystals: pump-probe, fluorescence upconversion, time-correlated single photon counting, and non-linear spectroscopies. The basics of the nanocrystals and the spectroscopies are presented, followed by a detailed synopsis of ultrafast spectroscopy studies performed on the various semiconductor nanocrystal systems.

Keywords: Inorganic chemistry; Inorganic materials; Materials chemistry; Materials science; Optical materials.

Publication types

Review