Charge separation in type II tunneling structures of close-packed CdTe and CdSe nanocrystals

We report on charge separation between type II aligned CdTe and CdSe nanocrystals. Two types of electrostatically bound nanocrystal structures have been studied: first, clusters of nanocrystals hold together by Ca(II) ions in aqueous solution and, second, thin film structures of nanocrystals created with layer-by-layer deposition in combination with polyelectrolytes. In both types of structures, short interparticle distances of less than 1 nm have been achieved, whereby the isolating organic ligands on the nanocrystal surfaces and/or the polymer monolayers act as tunneling barriers between nanocrystals. We have observed an efficient quenching of photoluminescence and a reduced emission lifetime for CdTe nanocrystals in both types of type II heterostructures. This result is explained by a spatial charge separation of the photoexcited electron-hole pairs due to tunneling of charge carriers through the thin organic layer between CdTe and CdSe nanocrystals. Type II heterostructures demonstrated here may find future applications in photovoltaics.