CuS nanocrystals are potential materials for developing low-cost solar energy conversion devices. Understanding the underlying dynamics of photoinduced carriers in CuS nanocrystals is essential to improve their performance in these devices. In this work, we investigated the photoinduced hole dynamics in CuS nanodisks (NDs) using the combination of transient optical (OTA) and X-ray (XTA) absorption spectroscopy. OTA results show that the broad transient absorption in the visible region is attributed to the photoinduced hot and trapped holes. The hole trapping process occurs on a subpicosecond time scale, followed by carrier recombination (~100 ps). The nature of the hole trapping sites, revealed by XTA, is characteristic of S or organic ligands on the surface of CuS NDs. These results not only suggest the possibility to control the hole dynamics by tuning the surface chemistry of CuS but also represent the first time observation of hole dynamics in semiconductor nanocrystals using XTA.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.5b01078 | DOI Listing |
Nanomaterials (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
We used density functional theory with a hybrid functional to investigate the structure and properties of [4H] (hydrogarnet) defects in -quartz as well as the reactions of these defects with electron holes and extra hydrogen atoms and ions. The results demonstrate the depassivation mechanisms of hydrogen-passivated silicon vacancies in -quartz, providing a detailed understanding of their stability, electronic properties, and behaviour in different charge states. While fully hydrogen passivated silicon vacancies are electrically inert, the partial removal of hydrogen atoms activates these defects as hole traps, altering the defect states and influencing the electronic properties of the material.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnal Methods
January 2025
School of Pharmacy, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241002, China.
A label-free photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor for detecting theophylline (TP) was exploited based on electrodes modified with a nanocomposite of polydopamine nanospheres (PDSs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). PDS particles were prepared by oxidative autopolymerization, and their reducibility was utilized in one step to reduce the gold nanoparticles . The AuNPs-PDS/ZnS PEC sensor was constructed by electrochemical deposition and drop coating.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States.
A device architecture based on heterostructure WSe/organic semiconductor field-effect transistors (FETs) is demonstrated in which ambipolar conduction is virtually eliminated, resulting in essentially unipolar FETs realized from an ambipolar semiconductor. For p-channel FETs, an electron-accepting organic semiconductor such as hexadecafluorocopperphthalocyanine (FCuPc) is used to form a heterolayer on top of WSe to effectively trap any undesirable electron currents. For n-channel FETs, a hole-accepting organic semiconductor such as pentacene is used to reduce the hole currents without affecting the electron currents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNature
January 2025
Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Graphene is a single-layered sp-hybridized carbon allotrope, which is impermeable to all atomic entities other than hydrogen. The introduction of defects allows selective gas permeation; efforts have been made to control the size of these defects for higher selectivity. Permeation of entities other than gases, such as ions, is of fundamental scientific interest because of its potential application in desalination, detection and purification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemphyschem
January 2025
Department of Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, 321004, P. R. China.
Undesirable loss of open-circuit voltage and current of metal halide perovskite (MHP) solar cells are closely associated with defects, so theoretical calculations have been often performed to scrutinize the nature of defects in bulk of MHPs. Yet, exploring the properties of defects at surfaces of MHPs is severely lacking given the complexity of the surface defects with high concentrations. In this study, I (Pb) antisite defects, namely one Pb (I) site being occupied by one I (Pb) atom at the surfaces of the FAPbI (FA=CH(NH)) material, are found to create electron (hole) traps when the surfaces with I (Pb) antisite defects are negatively (positively) charged.
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