Dependences of the Optical Absorption, Ground State Energy Level, and Interfacial Electron Transfer Dynamics on the Size of CdSe Quantum Dots Adsorbed on the (001), (110), and (111) Surfaces of Single Crystal Rutile TiO2

Quantum dots (QDs) provide an attractive alternative sensitizer to organic dyes. However, there have been few reports on QD-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) that have photovoltaic conversion efficiencies exceeding those of dye-sensitized solar cells. This is because of the lack of fundamental studies of QDs on conventional nanocrystalline metal oxide electrodes which possess much amount of heterogeneity. An important first step is an investigation of the dependences of the optical absorption, the ground state energy level, and the interfacial electron transfer (IET) on the size of QDs deposited on well characterized single crystal oxides. The present study focuses on a system of CdSe QDs adsorbed on the (001), (110), and (111) surfaces of single crystal rutile-TiO2. The optical absorption spectra, characterized using photoacoustic spectroscopy, were found to be independent of the surface orientation concerning the optical absorption edge. The exponential optical absorption tail (Urbach tail) suggests that the disorder decreases with the increasing size of the QDs and is independent of the surface orientation. The ground state energy levels of the QDs were characterized using photoelectron yield spectroscopy. That on the (001) surface shifts upward, while that on the (110) surface shifts downward with increasing QD size. That on the (111) surface is independent of the QD size, indicating the difference of the influence of the surface orientation on adsorption of the QDs. The IET rate constant and the relaxation component were characterized. The IET rate constant was found to decrease as the size of the QDs increases and depends on the surface orientation, indicating the differences in the decrease of the free energy change and lower coupling between the excited state of CdSe QDs and the Ti 3d orbitals in rutile-TiO2. The relaxation component increases with increasing QD size and depends on the surface orientation, correlating with the density of states in the conduction band of rutile-TiO2