Size Dependence of Ultrafast Electron Transfer from Didodecyl Dimethylammonium Bromide-Modified CsPbBr3 Nanocrystals to Electron Acceptors

Charge transfer efficiencies in all-inorganic lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are crucial for applications in photovoltaics and photocatalysis. Herein, CsPbBr₃ NCs with different sizes are synthesized by varying the ligand contents of didodecyl dimethylammonium bromide at room temperature. Adding benzoquinone (BQ) molecules leads to a decrease in the PL intensities and PL decay times in NCs. The electron transfer (ET) efficiency (η_ET) increases with NC size in complexes of CsPbBr₃ NCs and BQ molecules (NC-BQ complexes), when the same concentration of BQ is maintained, as investigated by transient photobleaching and photoluminescence spectroscopies. Controlling the same number of attached BQ acceptor molecules per NC induces the same η_ET in NC-BQ complexes even though with different NC sizes. Our findings provide new insights into ultrafast charge transfer behaviors in perovskite NCs, which is important for designing efficient light energy conversion devices.