NANO HIGHLIGHT æ Energy materials: supramolecular nanoparticles for solar energy harvesting E. S. Shibu1, A. Sonoda1, Z. Tao2, Q. Feng2, A. Furube3, S. Masuo4, L. Wang4, N. Tamai4, M. Ishikawa1 and V. Biju1,5 SNPs form powerful and durable antenna systems for solar cells Renewable resource of carbon-free transferred electron has been exter energy is crucial in the current scenally driven under simulated sunlight nario of global warming and our of AM 1.5 (100 mW/cm2). The new . growing energy needs. Besides, the photoelectrochemical cell composed significance of safer energy resources of SNPs is able to produce a photo has been underscored by many nucurrent of 400 mA/cm2 with an open clear mishaps, including the recently circuit voltage of 37 mV, which is crippled Fukushima Nuclear power truly better than the performance by plant in Japan. Sunlight is the most fullerene-QD dyad systems. Here, the electron transfer from promising alternative to nuclear fuels and greenhouse-gas-emitting fossil the highly stable QD to the protect and alcohol fuels. A combination of ing fullerene-shell places the SNPs among the most promising antenna the unique optical properties of quantum dots (QDs) such as broad systems for solar energy harvesting. absorption, exceptionally high values Now, researchers are looking for the improvisation of the SNPs in some of molar extinction coefficient, and uncompromised photostability with way, so as to produce larger photo the multi-electron acceptor fullerene current response. Nevertheless, the highly uniform SNPs. Here, the cor offers exciting prospects for light fullerene-shell offers physical and related single-photon emission and energy harvesting. V. Biju, E. S. chemical stability and biosafety to the two-state ONOFF photolumi Shibu and co-workers (1) from the core QD. nescence studies show single mole AIST-Shikoku in Japan have now demonstrated the photofabrication cule behavior of SNPs. The fullereneReference shells suppress the blinking of single of fullerene-shelled QD supramole1. Shibu ES, Sonoda A, Tao Z, Feng Q, Furube A, Masuo S, et al. PhotofabricaQDs by acting as well-defined elec cular nanoparticles (SNPs), in which tion of fullerene-shelled quantum dots the fullerene shell acts as a welltron traps, without allowing the supramolecular nanoparticles for solar defined electron acceptor and also as transfer of Auger electrons to unenergy harvesting. ACS Nano 2012; 6: known traps. Electron transfer from a robust protecting layer against the 16018. the QD-core to the fullerene-shell is photocorrosion of the QD core by iodine in the I =I redox couple apparent from the short ON and Author’s affiliation 3 1 OFF durations in the photolumines ‘breakthrough nanomaterials for soHealth Research Institute, National cence intensity trajectories of single Institute of Advanced Industrial Science lar energy harvesting,’ says Biju. Researchers have synthesized novel and Technology (AIST), Takamatsu, QDs, quenching of the photolumi Japan, 2Department of Advanced fullerene-shelled QD SNPs by the nescence intensity and lifetime of Materials Science, Kagawa University, QDs at the ensemble level, and covalent tethering of a fullerene-thiol Takamatsu, Japan, 3Research Institute monolayer to the QD followed by the the characteristic transient absorpfor Instrumentation Frontier, AIST, UV (256 nm)-induced [22] cycloTsukuba, Japan, 4Department of tion band of the anion radical of Chemistry, Kwansei Gakuin University, fullerene. addition reactions of free fullereneSanda, Japan, 5PRESTO, Japan thiol to the tethered monolayer. Using these unique nanomaterials, Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo, Scanning electron micrograph and the researchers have constructed a Japan atomic force microscopy image show photoelectrochemical cell and the For details Email:
[email protected] Nano Reviews 2013. # 2013 Shibu, E. S. et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Citation: Nano Reviews 2013, 4: 21079 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/nano.v4i0.21079
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