Characterization of hot carrier cooling and multiple exciton generation dynamics in PbS QDs using an improved transient grating technique

Multiple exciton generation (MEG) dynamics in colloidal PbS quantum dots (QDs) characterized with an improved transient grating (TG) technique will be reported. Only one peak soon after optical absorption and a fast decay within 1 ps can be observed in the TG kinetics when the photon energy of the pump light hν is smaller than 2.7Eg (Eg: band gap between LUMO and HOMO in the QDs), which corresponds to hot carrier cooling. When hν is greater than 2.7Eg, however, after the initial peak, the TG signal decreases first and soon increases, and then a new peak appears at about 2 to 3 ps. The initial peak and the new peak correspond to hot carriers at the higher excited state and MEG at the lowest excited state, respectively. By proposing a theoretical model, we can calculate the hot carrier cooling time constant and MEG occurrence time constant quantitatively. When MEG does not happen for hν smaller than 2.7Eg, hot carrier cools with a time constant of 400 fs. When MEG occurs for hν larger than 2.7Eg, hot carrier cools with a time constant as small as 200 fs, while MEG occurs with a time constant of 600 fs. The detailed hot carrier cooling and MEG occurrence dynamics characterized in this work would shed light on the further understanding of MEG mechanism of various type of semiconductor QDs.

Graphical abstract Multiple exciton generation (MEG) occurs in PbS QDs when photon energy for hν is larger than 2.7 Eg. Hot carriers cool within 200 fs, while MEG occurs within 600 fs.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide