Synergetic Effect of Silver Nanocrystals Applied in PbS Colloidal Quantum Dots for High-Performance Infrared Photodetectors

PbS colloidal quantum dot (CQD) photodetectors hold great potential for near-infrared detection due to their extremely high sensitivity and low-cost solution processing. In this paper we report that incorporation of 0.5% to 1% (by weight) Ag nanocrystals (NCs) into the PbS CQDs film could simultaneously enhance the photocurrent and suppress dark current and hence significantly boost device detectivity. A set of control experiments suggested that Ag NCs, once added to the PbS CQD film, could trap photogenerated electrons from neighboring PbS CQDs, extend carrier lifetime, and increase photocurrent. We further built a sensitive flexible photodetector using the optimized composite on stone paper, achieving an estimated detectivity as high as 1.5 × 10¹⁰ Jones. The synergetic effect found in our PbS CQD/Ag NC composite photodetectors is expected to be extendable to other binary NC systems for various applications