The direct observation of charge separation dynamics in CdSe quantum dots/cobaloxime hybrids

In this work, we investigated photoinduced charge separation dynamics in a CdSe quantum dot/cobaloxime molecular catalyst hybrid using the combination of transient optical (OTA) and X-ray absorption (XTA) spectroscopy. We show that ultrafast charge separation occurs through electron transfer (ET) from CdSe QDs to cobaloxime. In addition to the enhanced 1S exciton bleach recovery in CdSe QDs due to the presence of cobaloxime, the direct evidence for ET process, i.e. the formation of the transient charge separated state, is captured by XTA. These results not only demonstrate the capability of XTA to capture the transient species during the photoinduced reactions in hybrid nanostructures but also enhance our understanding of charge separation dynamics in semiconductor nanocrystal/molecular catalyst hybrid.