With the increasing need for sustainable energy sources comes an increasing need for cost-effective materials. One important type of system being investigated is a system in which semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) act as energy/charge donors and acceptors with other nanoparticles, proteins, or molecules. These charge-transfer systems have important implications in producing several energy-pertinent technologies such as organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells, NC-sensitized solar cells, and high-efficiency LEDs. In this project, we investigated charge transfer of tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) with indium phosphide NCs using electronic and vibrational absorption spectroscopy. Charge transfer with TCNQ has been observed with materials such as cadmium selenide and lead sulfide [CITATION?], but InP is a preferred material due to its more covalent nature and smaller relative toxicity than cadmium- and lead-containing materials. Microwave synthesis enabled for the control of NC size, which allowed us to investigate the effect of size on the degree of charge transfer. We also investigated the role that surface chemistry plays in charge transfer by altering the synthetic methods to achieve different levels of surface passivation. We found that charge transfer between TCNQ and InP NCs is possible, and smaller sizes produce more reduced forms of TCNQ. We also found that surface chemistry plays a large role in the charge transfer process. These simple NC-molecule constructs help us to gain a better understanding of more complex systems, and allow us to tailor intermolecular processes.

Investigation of charge-transfer complexes between TCNQ and indium phosphide quantum dots

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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