A layer-by-layer ZnO nanoparticle-PbS quantum dot self-assembly platform for ultrafast interfacial electron injection
Type
ArticleAuthors
Eita, Mohamed SamirUsman, Anwar
El Ballouli, Ala'a
Alarousu, Erkki
Bakr, Osman

Mohammed, Omar F.

KAUST Department
Chemical Science ProgramFunctional Nanomaterials Lab (FuNL)
KAUST Catalysis Center (KCC)
KAUST Solar Center (KSC)
Material Science and Engineering Program
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy and Four-dimensional Electron Imaging Research Group
Date
2014-08-28Online Publication Date
2014-08-28Print Publication Date
2015-01Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/563719
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Absorbent layers of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are now used as material platforms for low-cost, high-performance solar cells. The semiconductor metal oxide nanoparticles as an acceptor layer have become an integral part of the next generation solar cell. To achieve sufficient electron transfer and subsequently high conversion efficiency in these solar cells, however, energy-level alignment and interfacial contact between the donor and the acceptor units are needed. Here, the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique is used to assemble ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), providing adequate PbS QD uptake to achieve greater interfacial contact compared with traditional sputtering methods. Electron injection at the PbS QD and ZnO NP interface is investigated using broadband transient absorption spectroscopy with 120 femtosecond temporal resolution. The results indicate that electron injection from photoexcited PbS QDs to ZnO NPs occurs on a time scale of a few hundred femtoseconds. This observation is supported by the interfacial electronic-energy alignment between the donor and acceptor moieties. Finally, due to the combination of large interfacial contact and ultrafast electron injection, this proposed platform of assembled thin films holds promise for a variety of solar cell architectures and other settings that principally rely on interfacial contact, such as photocatalysis. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.Citation
Eita, M., Usman, A., El-Ballouli, A. O., Alarousu, E., Bakr, O. M., & Mohammed, O. F. (2014). A Layer-by-Layer ZnO Nanoparticle-PbS Quantum Dot Self-Assembly Platform for Ultrafast Interfacial Electron Injection. Small, 11(1), 112–118. doi:10.1002/smll.201400939Publisher
WileyJournal
SmallPubMed ID
25163799ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/smll.201400939
Scopus Count
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