Extending light-harvesting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) through efficient energy transfer from infra-red absorbing nanocrystals: Single nanoparticle study

We report on single nanocrystal fluorescence microscopy of blends composed of colloidal up-converting NaYF4 nanocrystals doped with rare-earth ions embedded in poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) polymer. By probing both steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence properties of individual nanocrystals exc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2014-10, Vol.105 (16)
Main Authors: Grzelak, Justyna, Ciszak, Kamil, Nyk, Marcin, Mackowski, Sebastian, Piatkowski, Dawid
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
Energy conversion efficiency
Energy transfer
Fluorescence
Infrared spectra
Metal ions
Nanocrystals
Nanoparticles
Near infrared radiation
Rare earth elements
Upconversion
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Summary:We report on single nanocrystal fluorescence microscopy of blends composed of colloidal up-converting NaYF4 nanocrystals doped with rare-earth ions embedded in poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) polymer. By probing both steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence properties of individual nanocrystals excited with infra-red 980 nm laser, we demonstrate that upon up-conversion to the visible spectral range, the energy is efficiently transferred from the nanocrystals to P3HT. From the analysis of fluorescence lifetimes, the energy transfer efficiency for 550 nm emission of the nanocrystals was estimated to be 60%. This observation renders the up-converting nanocrystals as potential structures for improving light-harvesting efficiency of polymers in the near-infrared spectral region.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4900488