CH3 NH3 PbBr3 Perovskite Nanocrystals as Efficient Light-Harvesting Antenna for Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer.

Hybrid perovskites have created enormous research interest as a low-cost material for high-performance photovoltaic devices, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, memory devices and sensors. Perovskite materials in nanocrystal form that display intense luminescence due to the quantum confinement effect were found to be particularly suitable for most of these applications. However, the potential use of perovskite nanocrystals as a light-harvesting antenna for possible applications in artificial photosynthesis systems is not yet explored. In the present work, we study the light-harvesting antenna properties of luminescent methylammonium lead bromide (CH3 NH3 PbBr3 )-based perovskite nanocrystals using fluorescent dyes (rhodamine B, rhodamine 101, and nile red) as energy acceptors. Our studies revealed that CH3 NH3 PbBr3 nanocrystals are an excellent light-harvesting antenna, and efficient fluorescence resonance energy transfer occurs from the nanocrystals to fluorescent dyes. Further, the energy transfer efficiency is found to be highly dependent on the number of anchoring groups and binding ability of the dyes to the surface of the nanocrystals. These observations may have significant implications for perovskite-based light-harvesting devices and their possible use in artificial photosynthesis systems.