Hot-electron dynamics in quantum dots manipulated by spin-exchange Auger interactions.

Nat Nanotechnol

Chemistry Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA.

Published: November 2019

The ability to effectively manipulate non-equilibrium 'hot' carriers could enable novel schemes for highly efficient energy harvesting and interconversion. In the case of semiconductor materials, realization of such hot-carrier schemes is complicated by extremely fast intraband cooling (picosecond to subpicosecond time scales) due to processes such as phonon emission. Here we show that using magnetically doped colloidal semiconductor quantum dots we can achieve extremely fast rates of spin-exchange processes that allow for 'uphill' energy transfer with an energy-gain rate that greatly exceeds the intraband cooling rate. This represents a dramatic departure from the usual situation where energy-dissipation via phonon emission outpaces energy gains due to standard Auger-type energy transfer at least by a factor of three. A highly favourable energy gain/loss rate ratio realized in magnetically doped quantum dots can enable effective schemes for capturing kinetic energy of hot, unrelaxed carriers via processes such as spin-exchange-mediated carrier multiplication and upconversion, hot-carrier extraction and electron photoemission.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0548-1DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

quantum dots
12
extremely fast
8
intraband cooling
8
phonon emission
8
magnetically doped
8
energy transfer
8
energy
6
hot-electron dynamics
4
dynamics quantum
4
dots manipulated
4

Similar Publications

TiSquantum dots composite carbon nanotubes aerogel with electromagnetic interference shielding effect.

Nanotechnology

January 2025

Institute of Nonlinear Optics, College of Science, JiuJiang University, Jiangxi 334000, People's Republic of China.

Titanium disulfide quantum dots (TiSQDs) has garnered significant research interest due to its distinctive electronic and optical properties. However, the effectiveness of TiSQDs in electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding is influenced by various factors, including their size, morphology, monodispersity, tunable bandgap, Stokes shift and interfacial effects. In this study, we propose a systematic approach for the synthesis of TiSQDs with small size (3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tauopathies, a group of neurodegenerative disorders, are characterized by the abnormal aggregation of tau proteins into neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), driving synaptic dysfunction, neuronal loss, and disease progression through tau aggregate propagation. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) functionalized with - cysteine ( -GQDs) have shown promise in inhibiting tau aggregation and transmission π-π stacking and electrostatic interactions with tau proteins. However, the non-specific binding of GQDs to various proteins in the physiological environment, such as serum albumin, limits their clinical translation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this study, a simple and efficient method for synthesizing nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) has been developed through a one-step hydrothermal process using hedyotis diffusa willd. The morphology, chemical composition, and optical properties of the resulting N-CQDs were thoroughly characterized. The synthesized N-CQDs exhibited a spherical shape with an average particle size of 4.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Coherent manipulation of photochemical spin-triplet formation in quantum dot-molecule hybrids.

Nat Mater

January 2025

State Key Laboratory of Molecular Reaction Dynamics, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China.

The interconversion between singlet and triplet spin states of photogenerated radical pairs is a genuine quantum process, which can be harnessed to coherently manipulate the recombination products through a magnetic field. This control is central to such diverse fields as molecular optoelectronics, quantum sensing, quantum biology and spin chemistry, but its effect is typically fairly weak in pure molecular systems. Here we introduce hybrid radical pairs constructed from semiconductor quantum dots and organic molecules.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Low-threshold surface-emitting colloidal quantum-dot circular Bragg laser array.

Light Sci Appl

January 2025

State Key Laboratory of Optical Fiber and Cable Manufacture Technology, Institute of Nanoscience and Applications, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are attractive gain media due to their wavelength-tunability and low optical gain threshold. Consequently, CQD lasers, especially the surface-emitting ones, are promising candidates for display, sensing and communication. However, it remains challenging to achieve a low-threshold surface-emitting CQD laser array with high stability and integration density.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!