Exploring Tetrathiafulvalene–Carbon Nanodot Conjugates in Charge Transfer Reactions. Issue 4 (29th December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ferrer‐Ruiz, Andrés; Scharl, Tobias; Haines, Philipp; Rodríguez‐Pérez, Laura; Cadranel, Alejandro; Herranz, M. Ángeles; Guldi, Dirk M.; Martín, Nazario
• Is Part Of: Angewandte Chemie international edition. Volume 57:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 1001
• Page End: 1005
• Publication Date: 2017-12-29
• Subjects: carbon nanodots -- charge transfer -- donor–acceptor systems -- excited state dynamics -- tetrathiafulvalene; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201709561
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1433-7851

Abstract

Abstract: Carbon nanodots (CNDs) were synthesized using low‐cost and biocompatible starting materials such as citric acid/urea, under microwave irradiation, and constant pressure conditions. The obtained pressure‐synthesized CNDs (pCNDs) were covalently modified with photo‐ and electroactive π‐extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF) by means of a two‐step esterification reaction, affording pCND‐exTTF. The electronic interactions between the pCNDs and exTTF were investigated in the ground and excited states. Ultrafast pump–probe experiments assisted in corroborating that charge separation governs the deactivation of photoexcited pCND‐exTTF. These size‐regular structures, as revealed by AFM, are stable electron donor–acceptor conjugates of interest for a better understanding of basic processes such as artificial photosynthesis, catalysis, and photovoltaics, involving readily available fluorescent nanodots. Abstract : Carbon nanodots (CNDs) were functionalized with π‐extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF) units by using a covalent synthetic approach. Upon photoexcitation, a charge‐separated state with a lifetime in the range of picoseconds evolves from electron donor–acceptor interactions between the carbon nanodots and the electron‐donating exTTF.