Nanocomposites Based on Luminescent Colloidal Nanocrystals and Polymeric Ionic Liquids towards Optoelectronic Applications

Abstract

Polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) are an interesting class of polyelectrolytes, merging peculiar physical-chemical features of ionic liquids with the flexibility, mechanical stability and processability typical of polymers. The combination of PILs with colloidal semiconducting nanocrystals leads to novel nanocomposite materials with high potential for batteries and solar cells. We report the synthesis and properties of a hybrid nanocomposite made of colloidal luminescent CdSe nanocrystals incorporated in a novel ex situ synthesized imidazolium-based PIL, namely, either a poly(N-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) or a homologous PIL functionalized with a thiol end-group exhibiting a chemical affinity with the nanocrystal surface. A capping exchange procedure has been implemented for replacing the pristine organic capping molecules of the colloidal CdSe nanocrystals with inorganic chalcogenide ions, aiming to disperse the nano-objects in the PILs, by using a common polar solvent. The as-prepared nanocomposites have been studied by TEM investigation, UV-Vis, steady-state and time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy for elucidating the effects of the PIL functionalization on the morphological and optical properties of the nanocomposites.

Poly(ionic liquid) composites

“…CdSe nanocrystals can coordinate with an imidazolium PIL poly(1-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium PF 6 ) or a PIL-functionalized homolog with a thiol end-group by simply mixing in DMSO. 67 Charge transfer processes may occur between the two components to facilitate the potential integration of PIL into photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices.…”

Optical and dielectric properties of PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate))/carbon dots composites

“…The “ ex‐situ ” preparation of nanocomposites by using a common solvent to blend the different pre‐synthesized components, allows for potentially improving the material properties by the optimization of nano‐filler dispersion in the matrix, which enables the retention of the physical and chemical features of both the phases . Thus, the obtained C‐dot‐based composite materials could find practical applications such as in solar cells , light emitting devices and capacitors for radio frequency electronics .…”

High‐Efficiency FRET Processes in BODIPY‐Functionalized Quantum Dot Architectures

“…Both the variations can be ascribed to the partial deprotection of the QD surface, caused by the limited desorption and displacement of the pristine ligands by the short bifunctional EA molecules whose surface passivation results less efficient. Moreover, the solvent composition and its different polarity also affects the QD emission and the exciton relaxation dynamics [20a, 21] …”