Energetics of Nonradiative Surface Trap States in Nanoparticles Monitored by Time-of-Flight Photoconduction Measurements on Nanoparticle–Polymer Blends

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) have had increasingly successful applications including in emissive or photovoltaic devices; however, trap states associated with the surface of NPs often drastically reduce the efficiency of devices and are difficult to detect spectroscopically. We show the applicability of photoconduction as the means of detecting and quantifying trap states in NPs. We performed time-of-flight (ToF) photoconduction measurements, using semiconducting poly[bis(4-phenyl)(4-butyphenyl)amine] (P-TPD) doped with either core/shell CdSeS/CdS quantum dots (QDs) or perovskite CsPbBr 3 NPs, both of which are carefully designed to be energetically matched. In the case of the QDs, a drop in the hole mobility from ∼10 −3 to ∼10 −4 cm 2 V −1 s −1 was observed when compared to a control sample, suggesting the presence of a hole trapping. These trap states were found to be around −5.0 to −4.9 eV from the vacuum level. The presence of the trap states was further supported by a coincident reduction in the photoluminescence (PL), quantum yield (QY), and lifetime of the core/shell QDs after purification. Using the measured reductions in the PL, QY, and lifetime, the surface trap state density was estimated to increase by between 20 and 40%, most likely due to a ligand detachment. In the case of the perovskite NP-doped samples, a mobility of ∼10 −3 cm 2 V −1 s −1 was measured. Thus, doping with perovskite NPs did not generate any obvious hole trapping from the P-TPD matrix. The absence of a trapping may be related to the reduced surface-to-volume ratio and NP number density of the perovskite NPs compared to the core/shell QDs, since the perovskite NPs are approximately 10 times larger in radius than that of the core/shell QDs. Our results suggest that to minimize the presence of trap states with a view to improving device performance, large-size perovskite NPs appear to be better than small-size QDs.

Semiconducting polymer dots for multifunctional integrated nanomedicine carriers

“…This positions Pdots as promising candidates for preclinical applications. Additionally, recent investigations by Guo et al provide pivotal data on the biological effects and safety of variously surface-modified Pdots, paving the way for their potential biomedical applications [ 220 , 405 ].

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Effects of Tellurium Doping on Environmental Stability and Luminous Performance of CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots

“…In the scenario of all-white-LED chips, the gamut of red, green, and blue require good color purity and brightness. However, owing to the intrinsic ionic nature of the bonds of CsPbX 3 , 6 the soft lattices result in a lower small formation energy of vacancies and an enormous concentration of halide vacancies; 7 furthermore, the detaching of ligand in the moisture is more severe, 8 those combined effects would deteriorate the brightness of QDs and gradually quench the PL intensities. To tackle the above shortcomings, various kinds of attempts have been made to enhance the stability against moisture, polar solvents, and ultraviolet.…”