Femtosecond Luminescence Imaging for Single Nanoparticle Characterization.

Defects naturally abound in semiconductor crystal structures and their presence either debilitates or improves device functionality. The increasing trend to strategically implant or remove specific defects to tailor the properties in materials via defect engineering has made it imperative to not only quantify these defects in nanostructures but to do so via efficient contactless techniques. Here we report the use of an ultrafast Kerr-gated microscope system to quantify the defect density at different locations on a single nanowire.

Synthesis of Hierarchical ZnO/CdSSe Heterostructure Nanotrees.

A two-step chemical vapor deposition procedure is here employed to prepare tree-like hierarchical ZnO/CdSSe hetero-nanostructures. The structures are composed of CdSSe branches grown on ZnO nanowires that are vertically aligned on a transparent sapphire substrate. The morphology was measured via scanning electron microscopy.

Ultrafast Relaxation Dynamics of Photoexcited Zinc-Porphyrin: Electronic-Vibrational Coupling.

Cyclic tetrapyrroles are the active core of compounds with crucial roles in living systems, such as hemoglobin and chlorophyll, and in technology as photocatalysts and light absorbers for solar energy conversion. Zinc-tetraphenylporphyrin (Zn-TPP) is a prototypical cyclic tetrapyrrole that has been intensely studied in past decades. Because of its importance for photochemical processes the optical properties are of particular interest, and, accordingly, numerous studies have focused on light absorption and excited-state dynamics of Zn-TPP.

Ultraviolet femtosecond Kerr-gated wide-field fluorescence microscopy.

A Kerr-gated microscope capable of imaging ultraviolet luminescence with femtosecond time resolution has been developed. The system allows the spatial, spectral, and temporal measurement of UV-emitting samples. The instrumentation was optimized for emission collection in the UV, resulting in sub 90 fs time resolution of gated signals.

Efficient Z-scheme charge separation in novel vertically aligned ZnO/CdSSe nanotrees.

A new tree-like ZnO/CdSSe nanocomposite with CdSSe branches grown on ZnO nanowires prepared via a two-step chemical vapor deposition is presented. The nanotrees (NTs) are vertically aligned on a substrate. The CdSSe branches result in strong visible light absorption and form a type-II heterojunction with the ZnO stem that facilitates efficient electron transfer.

Heterogeneous Electron-Transfer Dynamics through Dipole-Bridge Groups.

Heterogeneous electron transfer (HET) between photoexcited molecules and colloidal TiO has been investigated for a set of Zn-porphyrin chromophores attached to the semiconductor via linkers that allow to change level alignment by 200 meV by reorientation of the dipole moment. These unique dye molecules have been studied by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in solution and adsorbed on the TiO colloidal film in vacuum. In solution energy transfer from the excited chromophore to the dipole group has been identified as a slow relaxation pathway competing with S-S internal conversion.

Photoinduced Ultrafast Heterogeneous Electron Transfer at Molecule-Semiconductor Interfaces.

This Perspective discusses recent developments in ultrafast electron transfer dynamics at interfaces between organic and inorganic materials. Heterogeneous electron transfer (HET) is a key process in important fields like catalysis and solar energy conversion. Furthermore, the solid state nature of the systems gives control over relevant parameters and allows for investigating excited state dynamics and electron transfer processes in unprecedented detail.

Electronic state dependence of heterogeneous electron transfer: injection from the S1 and S2 state of phlorin into TiO2.

Ultrafast time-resolved measurements were performed on a novel pentafluorophenyl substituted 5,5-dimethyl phlorin derivative in solution and when attached to TiO2 colloidal films. The complex excited state dynamics of this porphyrinoid after S1 and S2 excitation was compared at different wavelengths and can be assigned to several subsequent relaxation mechanisms. The difference between excited state dynamics in the free molecule and when attached to an electron accepting electrode was measured.