Using Photoexcited Core/Shell Quantum Dots To Spin Polarize Appended Radical Qubits

The synthetic tunability, flexibility, and rich spin physics of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) make them promising candidates for quantum information science applications. However, the rapid spin relaxation observed in colloidal quantum dots limits their functionality. In the current work, we demonstrate a method to harness photoexcited spin states in QDs to produce long-lived spin polarization on an appended organic ligand molecule. We present a system composed of CdSe/CdS core/shell QDs, covalently linked to naphthalenediimide (NDI) electron-accepting molecules. The electron transfer dynamics from photoexcited QDs to the appended NDI ligands is explored as a function of both shell thickness and number of NDIs per QD. Transient EPR spectroscopy shows that the photoexcited QDs strongly spin polarize the NDI radical anion, which is interpreted in the context of both the radical pair and the triplet mechanisms of spin polarization. This work serves as an initial step toward using photoexcited QDs to strongly spin polarize organic radicals having long spin relaxation times to serve as spin qubits in quantum information science applications.