1570
6, NOVEMBER 2014
Light-Harvesting Antenna System
for Molecular Electronics
Anoop K M, Kallol Mohanta, and Ranjith Krishna Pai
Abstract—Molecular electronics has been growing rapidly to
a point where the ambition is to miniaturize conventional elec-
tronic devices down to the single-molecule scale. We construct
a molecular scale electronic device based on a donor–acceptor
antenna (DAA) system composed of an electron donating quan-
tuam dots (QDs) and electron accepting C6 0 coupled via
an aminoalkanethiol bridge. The DAA system was fabricated
by a self-assembly procedure, and the charge transfer (CT)
rate and charge discharge (CD) efficiency are demonstrated.
The CT rate that we obtained for our DAA system is
776 × 106 s−1 , which is ten times greater than the reported value.
Photoluminescence excitation data, PL lifetime, and intensity tra-
jectory data show that strong CT occurs from the QD to the
C6 0 PTA, and this thin DAA film (<100 nm) device can hold
photogenerated charges for almost 3 h before complete dissipa-
tion when not connected to an external circuit, which can have a
positive impact on the application of these DAA-based device in
molecular electronics. We anticipate that our findings will catalyze
the development of new lightweight solar battery.
Index Terms—Donor–acceptor antenna (DAA), fullerenes,
impedance spectroscopy, quantum dots (QDs), single molecule
studies.
I. INTRODUCTION
OLECULAR electronics based on a donor–acceptor an-
M tenna (DAA) system have emerged as excellent can-
didates for promising applications in next-generation elec-
tronic and optoelectronic devices [1]. Among the various types
of molecular electronic-based devices, organic electronic de-
vices fabricated utilizing organic donor–bridge–acceptor (DBA)
supramolecules have currently been receiving broad attention
because of their excellent performance with high-mechanical
flexibility, simple fabrication, and low cost [2]. The prospect of
potential applications of molecular scale electronic, also called
single-molecule electronics, based devices fabricated utilizing
Manuscript received June 27, 2014; revised August 22, 2014; accepted Au-
gust 27, 2014. Date of publication September 23, 2014; date of current version
October 17, 2014. The work of A. K M was supported by the Jain Univer-
sity, Bangalore, India, through the Ph.D. research fellowship, and the work of
R. K. Pai was supported by the startup research grant from Jain University.
(Corresponding author: R. K. Pai.)
A. K M and R. K. Pai are with the Nanostructured Hybrid Functional
Materials and Devices, Center for Nano and Material Sciences, Jain Uni-
versity, Bangalore 562112, India (e-mail: ranjith.pai@jainuniversity.ac.in;
ranjith.krishnapai@gmail.com).
K. Mohanta was with the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory,
4715 Braga, Portugal. He is now with the PSG Institute of Advanced Studies,
Coimbatore 641004, India.
This paper has supplementary downloadable material available at http://
ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2356016
2156-3381 © 2014 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS, VOL. 4, NO.
the DAA system has led to substantial research and develop-
ment efforts to form various kinds of donor–acceptor (DA)
light-harvesting system by using various methods [3], [4]. Gen-
erally, DA nanocomposites are composed of organic layer con-
taining metal nanoparticles, core-shell semiconductor quantum
dots (QDs), fullerenes (C60 ), carbon nanotubes, or graphene
molecules [3]–[5]. The DBA system can be potential power
sources for molecular electronics if they efficiently absorb
and convert photons into charge carriers through photoinduced
charge transfer (CT) [3]. Recently, there has been interest in
energy transfer process in various kinds of complex molecu-
lar aggregates, such as artificial light-harvesting assemblies [6],
DBA heterodimers, fullerene-shelled QDs, and QD-shelled con-
jugated polymers (CP) [7]. In these systems, QDs are promising
electron donors and in the local nanoenvironment of QDs, an
external traps (C60 or CP), which are energetically favorable to
accept photogenerated electrons or holes [8], [9]. Recent reports
demonstrate that the external charge traps (C60 or CP) that are
properly coupled to the excited state of a QD have a significant
effect on the QD’s photoluminescence (PL) blinking dynamics
[3]. Some works concerning the construction of photoelectro-
chemical cells [10] and photoinduced electron transfer (ET)
[11] in DBA systems have been reported, and photophysical
properties by single-molecule spectroscopy (SMS) have been
demonstrated as well [12]. However, the electrical characteris-
tics of the DAA system composed of C60 and QDs have yet to be
exploited in detail. Better design of new light-harvesting DAA
system for molecular electronic requires a systematic study of
charge trapping and charge–discharge (CD) mechanism in the
DAA system. For example, the development of light-harvesting
devices based on organic DA thin films appeal more interest in
the characterization of CT in solid films rather than in solution.
Similarly, the DAA system utilizing C60 /QDs hybrids can ben-
efit in warmth if one can understand how the CT rate and CD
efficiency affects QD’s emission properties [13].
This communication describes investigations and develop-
ments in molecular scale electronic device based on DAA
system composed of an electron donating QD’s and elec-
tron accepting C60 coupled via an aminoalkanethiol bridge.
The device structure, fabrication, and electrical characteris-
tics of the DAA system are discussed, and the CT rate and
CD efficiency are demonstrated. The DAA system were fab-
ricated by a self-assembly procedure reported in [12] (see
details in the experimental section). In brief, 6-amino-1-
hexanethiol hydrochloride (6AHT) was connected to water-
soluble C60 pyrrolidine tris-acid (C60 PTA) via a 1-ethyl-3-(3-
dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) coupling reaction,
resulting in thiolated C60 PTAs. Next, amine-ended CdSe/ZnS
K M et al.: LIGHT-HARVESTING ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS
Fig. 1. (Left) DAA system based on a core/shell CdSe/ZnS QD525 and a
fullerene (C6 0 pyrrolidine tris-acid, C6 0 PTA), which here is Qd-6AHT-C6 0
PTA. QD and C6 0 PTA are not drawn to scale. (Right) UV/Vis spectrum of DAA
film (black), C6 0 PTA (red), QD525 (green), and PL spectra (dashed lines) of
Qd525 (green) and DAA film (black).
QDs (PL peak at 525 nm) were conjugated to carboxyl groups of
C60 PTAs, resulting in DAA. Finally, DAA were immobilized
on a silanized indium tin oxide (ITO) surface (treated with
3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, APTMS) by a coupling reac-
tion assisted by EDC which involves amine groups on the ITO
and carboxyl groups of C60 PTAs. Fig. 1 (left) shows structural
model for the DAA system.
The electronic spectra of C60 PTA, QD525, and DAA film are
shown in Fig. 1 (right). The absorption band seen at 340 nm is in
the case of C60 PTA (red solid line) and the band at 506 nm is for
QD525 (green solid line). The PL emission maxima were seen
at 525 nm for QD525 (green dotted line). The absorption band
of QD at 506 nm has broadened marginally (395 to 590 nm)
following C60 PTA incorporation, and we can see that the bands
(340 nm for C60 PTA, and 506 nm for QD525) are slightly
red-shifted (black solid line) when compared with that of free
QD (green solid line) and C60 PTA (red solid line). The almost
complete disappearance of the C60 PTA band after DAA for-
mation (black solid line) indicates considerable reorganization
in the C60 PTA chemical structure, possibly due to the con-
jugation of C60 PTA around the QD525. After entrapment of
C60 PTA on to the QD525, the absorption band at 340 nm red-
shifted to 395 nm, clearly indicating that the C60 PTA formed
a complex with the QD525. We speculate that the C60 PTA in-
corporated into the QD525, although electrostatically bound to
the QD lattice, might experience restricted motion and, there-
fore, conformational change. This might be associated with a
decreased bandgap of the DAA system (2.1 eV) that can result
in spectrally red-shifted emission and a broad absorption band
when compared with the free QD525. ET from QD525 to C60
PTA is not possible as the emission band of QD and absorption
band of C60 PTA do not overlap. Therefore, when the DAA
system is photoexcited by 460 nm, then interaction should be
CT from QD525 to C60 PTA. However, the interaction can be
further narrowed down to ET, considering the positioning of the
electronic energy levels of CdSe QD (conduction band −4.3 eV,
valence band −6.4 eV) [14] and fullerene (lowest unoccupied
molecular orbital −4.7 eV, highest occupied molecular orbital
−6.8 eV) [15], which does not favor hole transfer. As shown in
1571
Fig. 2. (Top) Single-molecule PL decays of QD525 (red) and DAA film
(black) exhibiting average PL lifetimes of 11.7 and 1.16 ns, respectively.
(Bottom) Single-molecule trajectories of the PL intensity from QD525 (left)
and DAA film (right).
Fig. 1 [right (black-dotted line)], the PL intensity of QD525 is
significantly quenched by the same concentrations of C60 PTA
when 80 μM of 6AHT linker and 4 nm of EDC are added into
solution (see the experimental section). This indicates enhanced
CT and, therefore, successful linking of QD525 and C60 PTA
by aminoalkanethiols. Enhanced CT was further confirmed by
PL decay measurement in solution [see Fig. 2 (top)]. Repre-
sentative single-molecule trajectories of the PL intensity of an
isolated QD525 particle and of single DAA (QD525-6AHT-C60
PTA) is shown in Fig. 2 (bottom).
The PL decay and PL intensity trajectory of DAA film are
suppressed when compared with that of free QD525, thus sug-
gesting enhanced nonradiative recombination owing to photoin-
duced CT from QD525 to C60 PTA. It is reported that the CT
is influenced not only by the DA electronic coupling but by
the energy-band offset between the donor and acceptor moi-
eties as well. Recent report shown that the suppression of CT
fluctuation in DA dimers with smaller QD sizes leads to a sta-
ble charge generation rate, which can have a positive impact
on the application of these DA dimers in molecular electronics
[15]. Reducing linker length (6AHT) in the DA dimer results in
suppression of CT fluctuations, which indicates that the linker
motion plays an important role for defining and controlling the
magnitude of CT fluctuation. Herein, inspired by the concept of
reducing the linker length to achieve a stable charge generation
rate, the 6AHT shortest linker derived from the recent report
of Xu et al. was designed [12]. The linker-length effect of CT
rate (σ) for DAA film can be determined from the PL lifetime
measurements from Fig. 2. The simplest formulation for σ is
the following:
1 1
σ= − (1)
τDAA τQD
1572 IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS, VOL. 4, NO. 6, NOVEMBER 2014

where τDAA and τQD are the average PL lifetime for DAA film
and QD, respectively. Average PL lifetime of DAA film and QD
was calculated from equation
 2
i αi τi
τ=
j αj τj

where α is the intensity fraction of PL lifetime. From the PL

lifetime measurement (see Fig. 2), the average PL lifetime for
DAA film is 1.16 ns, and for QD525, it is 11.7 ns. Substituting
these values into (1), the CT rate we obtained for our DAA
system is 776 × 106 s−1 , which is ten times greater than the
reported value for the DBA (i.e., 6.8 × 107 s−1 for QD-6AHT- Fig. 3. Tapping mode AFM image of DAA film coated onto an ITO-coated
FMH) [12]. glass substrate. (Left) 1 μm × 1 μm scan size. (Right) 500 nm × 500 nm scan
size.

II. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS

Carboxyl-ended core/shell CdSe/ZnS QDs (QD ITK) emit-
ting at 525 nm was obtained from invitrogen. C60 pyrro-
lidine tris acid (C60 PTA), 6AHT, ethanol (99.5%), acetic
acid, ethyl(dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC), and
3-APTMS were obtained from Sigma Aldrich.
A. Donor–Acceptor Antenna System Fabrication
The stepwise surface assembly of QD-C60 -PTA-DAA system
includes five steps: 1) ITO cleaning; 2) surface silanization;
3) C60 PTA coupling; 4) linker coupling; and 5) QD conjugation.
In brief, ITO was cleaned by washing in the following order:
ethanol (2 min)—Milli Q water (2 min)—ethanol (2 min)—Milli
Q water (thorough rinsing). After drying with nitrogen gas, ITO
was subjected to silanization. Well-cleaned ITO was rapidly
immersed in freshly prepared 1-mM APTMS-toluene solution
for 120 min and then withdrawn as quickly as possible. After
the reaction, the modified substrate was rinsed repeatedly with
chloroform and toluene to remove excess deposit. The cleaned
ITO was dried using nitrogen steam. Mixture of 20 μL of EDC
(5 mg · mL−1 ) and 6AHT (0.01 mg · mL−1 ) was added to 250 μL
of C60 PTA (0.04 mg·mL−1 ) and was vortexed for 30 min. To
this solution, 250 μL of 8-nM QD525 was added and shook
thoroughly using thermomix at 0 °C for 30 min followed by
shaking for 2 h at room temperature. We then spin coated 85 nm
of the as-prepared solution on to the silanized ITO. The active
layer was then annealed under the nitrogen flow for 15–20 min
at 120 °C. The complete fabrication steps took place in the
glovebox. For the current–voltage measurement, two electrodes
in use are transparent ITO and sputter-coated aluminum. ITO
was used as back electrode and 200 nm of Al was deposited
through metallic mask on thin film of dimer. The size of the Al
electrode is 0.5 × 0.5 cm2 .
B. Characterization
PL spectroscopy of 8-nM solution in water was taken at room
temperature by a Jobin-Yvon Fluoromax 4 with a pulsed xenon
source, and its detector has a multiplier tube. Excitation wave-
length for all the samples was 426 nm. Fluorescence lifetime
spectroscopy of solutions at room temperature was measured
by ISS Chronos BH. The solution was excited with a 363 laser
diode of a pulse of width 20 ns and repetition rate 20 MHz. I–V
characteristics were taken by Keithley 2420 source-meter keep-
ing Al contact as ground. Bias swept from negative to positive
then again to negative in loops; the rate of scan was 80 mV/s
with a step of 0.02 V. The device was kept upside down so
that it can be illuminated through backside. For illumination, a
Newport solar simulator was used. One-sun intensity of white
light was irradiated on the device through 1.5 air mass filter.
1) Impedance Spectroscopy: Impedance of the system was
measured by a Bio-Logic VMP3 potentiostat with input
impedance 1012 Ω. To use potentiostat for a two electrode sys-
tem, the reference electrode and counter electrode should be
connected, and measurement should be taken between working
and reference electrodes. The working electrode was connected
to ITO, and reference and counter electrodes were connected to
Al. First, we measured impedance of the device keeping that at
0-V bias; then, a pulse of +1.2 V was applied for 2 min. After
pulse of voltage is applied, the impedance of the device was
measured at 0 V at different intervals like 1, 2, 3 h.
2) Atomic Force Microscopy: DAA solution spin coated on
ITO was imaged in air using Bruker Dimension Icon atomic
force microscope (AFM) equipped with a Nanoscope V SPM
controller operated in TappingMode. A silicon cantilever with
resonance frequency 300–400 kHz and spring constant 42 N/m
was used. AFM height images were presented after simple flat-
tening using V 9.0 Nanoscope software. The samples were ob-
served by AFM immediately after the deposition as well as
after sample exposure to highly humid atmosphere. Humidity
was controlled by enclosing the samples with pure water in a
container for 100% relative humidity (RH). The AFM observa-
tion was done in the laboratory condition at the RH of 50–60%.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Surface Morphology Analysis
The morphology of the DAA film was analyzed using AFM.
A large-area AFM image of the DAA film is shown in the,
supplemental information (see Fig. S1). Interestingly, as the
solvent evaporates, DAA complex results as a thin film with
linear and branched network, as shown in Fig. 3 (left). A higher
magnification AFM image in Fig. 3 (right) is showing detailed
K M et al.: LIGHT-HARVESTING ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS
Fig. 4. (Left) Design of the sandwich-type device, in which the photoactive
layer (DAA film) is sandwiched between APTMS-modified ITO and AlSiCu-
based ground electrode. (Right) Structure of C6 0 PTA, aminoalkanethiol linker
(6AHT), and CdSe/ZnS QD. Drawing of QD and C6 0 PTA is not to scale.
core structure. The particles (C60 PTA-QD525 conjugates) were
elongated in the size range 23–40 nm leads to a highly uni-
form branched network. The thickness of the film 85 nm was
measured by AFM tip used to create a furrow in the film,
whereby the thickness was determined by scanning the sample
across the furrow with the AFM. Scanning electron microscopy
(SEM) imaging (see Fig. S2 in the supplemental information) il-
lustrates a highly regular branched network patterned over large
scales (>200 μm). These films are highly fluorescent when ob-
served with an epifluorescence microscope under blue light (see
Fig. S3 in the supplemental information).
B. Charge Transfer Rate and Charge Discharge
Efficiency Demonstration
As an initial effort to demonstrate the CT rate and CD effi-
ciency of the DAA system toward molecular electronic-based
devices, we have fabricated sandwich-type device (see details
in the experimental section) and measured the CT and CD re-
sponses of the device. Sandwich-type device were assembled as
shown in Fig. 4.
The top window layer of the device uses an ITO and is
placed very close to the sandwich. In between the two elec-
trodes (ITO and Aluminum), we used 85-nm-thick DAA film
(active layer). The photographs (see Fig. S4 in the supplemental
information) of the surface of the new sandwich-type device
demonstrates the light absorbing effect: Under sunlight, a stan-
dard solar power cell looks tinted in color due to light reflect-
ing from its surface, but the new sandwich-type device looks
deep black because of the extremely low-light reflection. With
our new sandwich-type device, we were able to address two
challenges that cause solar-based devices to lose energy: light
reflecting from the device and the inability to fully capture the
light that enters the device.
Device current–voltage (I–V) measurements were performed
with Keithley 2420 source-meter. The sandwich-type device
was subjected to a voltage scan in a loop from −1.2 to +1.2 V
performed at each cell for several times; there is a significant
rectifying behavior in the I–V characteristic (see Fig. 5). Fig. 5
1573
Fig. 5. I–V characteristics for DAA-based devices. (Left) Before illumina-
tion. (Right) Under 1000-W·m−2 AM 1.5G illuminations. The current at zero
potential has increased from −4.5 × 10−6 to −1 × 10 −5 .
(left) shows the current in −ve bias much higher than in +ve
bias, and there is a nonzero current at zero potential. Further-
more, a negative current at 0 V was recognized when sweeping
back from +1.2 to −1.2 V, and it does not follow the same
behavior when sweeping from −1.2 to +1.2 V. Therefore, we
assume that a capacitive element has been formed within a de-
vice. Active layer (DAA film) thickness in our device is less than
a hundred nanometers; the electric field across the device can be
very large, even though the applied bias is only a few volts. This
high field is thought to cause charges to be transferred between
donors and acceptors in the DAA film. Depending on the rela-
tive energy levels [see Fig. 5 (left) and (right)], the QD and C60
PTA can act as donors and acceptors, respectively. The QD and
C60 PTA coupled via 6AHT linker barrier (an insulating layer);
therefore, the trapped charges in C60 PTA are prevented from
moving back to QD, even when the applied voltage is removed.
This linker barrier leads to charge accumulation in the external
trap (C60 PTA), which results in a negative current at 0 V.
Fig. 5 (left) presents the I–V characteristics of the same device
under 1000 W·m−2 with a standard filter air mass 1.5 global (AM
1.5G) illumination. It is clear from the figure that the current at
0 V has been increased twofold. Due to the favorable energy-
band alignment existing between a QD and C60 PTA [see Fig. 5
(right)], CT is the dominant interaction between a donor and an
acceptor under photoexcitation. For a QD, coupling of a good
electron acceptor such as C60 PTA is expected to increase the
driving force for CT, and the reorganization energy is expected to
decrease by reducing the DA separation distance, both leading to
the reduction of activation energy. It seems that the linker length
is critical since longer DA separation distance can lead to slower
CT15, and it is possible that the photogenerated electrons and
holes in the QD recombine before being transferred to external
traps (C60 PTA) [16]. For our DAA-based device, coupling of an
external electron acceptor C60 PTA to a QD with an optimized
linker 6AHT can lead to a fast CT rate (suppression of charge
recombination). On the other hand, if external charge traps (C60
PTA) and QD are too close, there would be no lag on CT, and
we could not see the effect of nonzero current (see Fig. 5).
To gain further insight into the charge storage capability of the
device and to quantify recombination lifetimes in the device, we
determined the experimental discharge rate in the devices [see
Fig. 6 (left)]. The impedance of the device has been acquired
by an impedance spectroscope, measured with an ac with set
bias: 0 V; peak voltage: 100 mV condition and scanned over a
1574
Fig. 6. Impedance measurement of discharging. (Left) Phase measurement
of the devices with frequency at different time scales. (Right) Variation of
magnitude of impedance with frequency at different time scales.
Fig. 7. QD acting as an energy funnel by undergoing rapid energy CT to the
C60 PTA.
range of frequency from 1 to 106 Hz (see Fig. 6 (left); square
symbol). Then, the device is charged for 30 swith set bias: 1.2 V
and measured impedance at 0 V. Then, every hour impedance is
measured at 0 V until the impedance spectrum match up with
the first measurement (see Fig. 6 (left); arrow symbol). It is clear
from Fig. 6 (left) that it takes almost 3 h to discharge completely
after charging the device with set bias: 1.2 V. The primitive or
discharged state of the device is purely resistive, while in the
charged state, the capacitive component has been formed.
To better demonstrate the charge storage capability of the
device, variations of magnitude of impedance with frequency
at different time scales were measured [see Fig. 6 (right)]. We
note that the discharge rate is consistent with the data in Fig. 6
(left). At the charged state of the device, a capacitive contribu-
tion has been developed which leads to high impedance, and as
time passes, the device returns to the discharged state, which
has relatively low impedance. We, thus, speculate that when the
charge accumulation takes place, the equivalent circuit of the de-
vice becomes complex, and it can be defined as a combination
of series and parallel RC circuits. The QD is acting as an energy
funnel by undergoing rapid CT to the C60 PTA (for a visual
representation of this process, see Fig. 7). Such a circumstance
would explain both the PL decay and the PL intensity trajectory
data. The I–V characteristics (see Fig. 5) of the device unequivo-
cally demonstrate QD participation in photocurrent generation,
which lead to CT events from the QD to the C60 PTA that would
certainly promote the circumstance of increased photocurrent
generation as the QD starts absorbing the light. CT would also
IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS, VOL. 4, NO. 6, NOVEMBER 2014
explain the suppression of PL decay and PL intensity trajectory
[17], while SMS is a powerful tool for detecting CT [18].
IV. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we have successfully fabricated a light-
harvesting antenna system by stepwise surface assembly, and
photoinduced CT and CD efficiency in this antenna has been
investigated. Importantly, we have shown that it is possible to
fabricate a hybrid thin-film sandwich device that exhibits strong
photocurrent contribution from absorption on both the QD and
C60 PTA. Since PL excitation data, PL lifetime and intensity
trajectory data show that strong CT occurs from the QD to the
C60 PTA, we, thus, propose that this device may be operating
as a QD sensitized charge accumulator. It is worth noting that
this thin DAA film (<100 nm) device can hold photogener-
ated charges for almost 3 h before complete dissipation when
not connected to an external circuit, which can have a positive
impact on the application of these DAA-based devices in molec-
ular electronics. We anticipate that our findings will catalyze the
development of new lightweight solar battery, and these studies
point out the need for further improvement in the design of the
DAA-based device to maximize the photoconversion efficiency.
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Anoop K M received the B.Sc. degree in physics and
the M.Sc. Tech degree in photonics from National
Institute of Technology, Calicut, India, in 2010 and
2013, respectively. He is currently working towards
the Ph.D. degree in nanotechnology under the guid-
ance of Dr. R. Krishna Pai (Professor & Group leader,
Nanostructured Hybrid Functional Materials & De-
vices) associated with the Department of Center for
Nano and Material Sciences, Jain University, Banga-
lore, India.
His research interest includes nanostructured thin
film organic solar cells, organic and hybrid solar batteries.
Kallol Mohanta received the B.Sc. and the M.Sc.
degrees, both in physics, from the University of Bur-
dwan, India, in 2002 and 2004, respectively. He re-
ceived the Ph.D. degree from the Indian Association
for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur University,
India, in 2010.
From 2010 to 2013, he was a visiting postdoctoral
fellow with the International Iberian Nanotechnology
Laboratory (INL), Portugal. His research at INL in-
volved characterizations of Nanostructured Materials
and Devices and working closely with Dr. Pai’s, re-
search group and projects. He recently joined the PSG Institute of Advanced
Studies, Coimbatore, India, as Assistant Professor.
His research interest includes thin film solar cells, organic opto-electronic
devices, and hybrid materials for electronic applications.
1575
Ranjith Krishna Pai received the Ph.D. degree in
natural sciences from Dr. Othmar Marti’s Group at
Ulm University, Germany, in 2005.
From 2006 to 2007, he was a postdoctoral re-
searcher with the University of Chile, Santiago,
working on genetic engineering of a novel protein-
nanoparticle hybrid system with great potential for
biosensing applications. From 2007 to 2009, he spent
two years as a post doctoral scientist with Stockholm
University, Stockholm, Sweden, working on the syn-
thesis of nanostructured hybrid materials and char-
acterization of nonlinear optical nanomaterials. From 2009 to 2011, he was a
research scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), NY, USA, working
on photofabrication of donor-acceptor antenna systems for solar energy harvest-
ing, development of biosensing platforms based on bio-inorganic scaffolds with
single molecule/particle sensitivity, and fabrication of transparent organic thin-
film for use in organic photovoltaic cells. After spending 2 years and 5 months
at BNL, he spent another 2 years and 4 months (2011–2013) as a research sci-
entist with the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), Braga,
Portugal. His research at INL involved development of transparent conjugated
polymer films for capturing solar energy, organic thin-film solar cells based on
conjugated polymers and fullerene derivatives, hybrid organic/inorganic nano-
materials and synthesis and fundamental study of conjugated polymers, solar
device fabrication, and electrical and photochemical device measurements. He
is currently an Associate Professor and Group Leader with Nanostructured Hy-
brid Functional Materials and Devices, Center for Nano and Material Sciences,
Jain University, Bangalore, India. He has published over 50 scientific papers and
has authored two books. He has given 15 invited lectures at international con-
ferences. Previously, he served as an Associate Editor of the journal Nanotools
Nanomachines. He is currently a Guest Editor of the International Journal of
Polymer Science.
His research interest includes energy conversion technologies, including
low-cost photovoltaic (organic and hybrid solar cells) and electrical energy stor-
age (batteries and supercapacitors), synthesis of semiconducting polymers and
polymer nanostructures and their application to organic transistors, solar cells,
light emitting diodes and other photonic applications, synthesis, characteriza-
tions and applications of carbon and inorganic nanotubes, and modeling of the
electronic properties of nanostructured semiconductors.