Singlet and Triplet Exciton Harvesting in the Thin Films of Colloidal Quantum Dots Interfacing Phosphorescent Small Organic Molecules

Efficient nonradiative energy transfer is reported in an inorganic/organic thin film that consists of a CdSe/ZnS core/shell colloidal quantum dot (QD) layer interfaced with a phosphorescent small organic molecule (FIrpic) codoped fluorescent host (TCTA) layer. The nonradiative energy transfer in these thin films is revealed to have a cascaded energy transfer nature: first from the fluorescent host TCTA to phosphorescent FIrpic and then to QDs. The nonradiative energy transfer in these films enables very efficient singlet and triplet state harvesting by the QDs with a concomitant fluorescence enhancement factor up to 2.5-fold, while overall nonradiative energy transfer efficiency is as high as 95%. The experimental results are successfully supported by the theoretical energy transfer model developed here, which considers exciton diffusion assisted Förster-type near-field dipole-dipole coupling within the hybrid films. © 2014 American Chemical Society