Graphene, the two-dimensional (2D) single-atom carbon sheet, has attracted tremendous research interest due to its large surface area, high carrier transport mobility, superior mechanical fl exibility and excellent thermal/chemical stability. [ 1 ] In particular, its high transport mobility [ 2 , 3 ] and environmentally friendly nature meet important requirements in the fabrication of optoelectronic devices. Apart from the conducting fi lm [ 4 , 5 ] and transparent anode [ 6 ] developed previously, its high mobility renders it a promising alternative as an electron-accepting material for photovoltaic device applications. However, the easy aggregation and the poor dispersion of 2D graphene sheets in common solvents limit its application in such devices. Although effort has been made to prepare solution-processable functionalized graphenes (SPFGs), [ 7 ] the non-uniform size and shape, on a scale of several hundred nanometers and even micrometers of SPFGs, remain big challenges for the fabrication of highperformance photovoltaic cells with active layer thicknesses of only nanometer scale.To facilitate the application of graphene in nanodevices and to effectively tune the bandgap of graphenes, a promising approach is to convert the 2D graphene sheets into 0D graphene quantum dots (GQDs). Apart from unique electron transportation properties, [ 8 ] new phenomena from GQDs associated with quantum confi nement and edge effects are expected. [ 9 ] QDs are important for various applications in bioimaging, [ 10 ] lasing, [ 11 ] photovoltaics [ 12 , 13 ] and light emitting diodes. [ 14 , 15 ] The development of new types of QD will allow control of the fundamental properties of materials through size/shape effects, which will further allow new devices to be developed with extraordinary properties and functions for numerous applications. Nowadays, the study of 2D graphene nanosheets [ 16 ] and 1D nanoribbons [ 17 ] has been on the high-speed track. However, the development of 0D GQDs remains inchoate and synthesis is only a recent effort. Pan and co-workers presented a hydrothermal method for cutting preoxidized graphene sheets into GQDs (approximately 10 nm in size) with blue emissions due to the large edge effect of GQDs. [ 18 ] Interestingly, graphene moieties containing certain conjugated carbon atoms have also been synthesized through solution chemistry by Müllen and Li, [ 19 , 20 ] which were demonstrated to be attractive for effi cient light harvesting in photovoltaics. [ 21 ] Herein, we report an alternative electrochemical approach for direct preparation of functional GQDs with a uniform size of 3-5 nm, which present a green luminescence and can be retained stably in water for several months without any changes. Polymer photovoltaic devices using GQDs as novel electronacceptor materials are also demonstrated. Although without device optimization in this primary study, a power conversion effi ciency of 1.28% was achieved. We expect our endeavor may further the advancement of less-developed graphenebased QDs.The ...

We report observations of a strong thickness dependence for charge transfer (CT) from MoSe 2 to MoS 2 , as evidenced by transient absorption measurements. By time-resolving CT from MoSe 2 monolayers (1Ls) to MoS 2 flakes of varying thicknesses, including 1L, bilayer (2L), and trilayer (3L), we find that the CT time is several picoseconds in the 1L-MoSe 2 /3L-MoS 2 heterostructure, which is much longer than that of 1L-MoSe 2 /1L-MoS 2 and 1L-MoSe 2 /2L-MoS 2 heterostructures. In addition, the recombination lifetime of the interlayer excitons in the 1L/3L heterostructure is several times longer than that of 1L/1L and 1L/ 2L heterostructures, reaching 800 ps. Furthermore, we show that a prepulse can reduce the CT time and enhance the interlayer exciton recombination in the 1L/3L heterostructure. These findings illustrate that layer thickness can be an important parameter to control the CT property of van der Waals heterostructures. These experimental results also provide important information for further refining the understanding of the physical mechanisms of CT in van der Waals heterostructures.

No abstract

Light loss is one of the main factors affecting the quantum efficiency of photodetectors. Many researchers have attempted to use various methods to improve the quantum efficiency of silicon-based photodetectors. Herein, we designed highly anti-reflective silicon nanometer truncated cone arrays (Si NTCAs) as a light-trapping layer in combination with graphene to construct a high-performance graphene/Si NTCAs photodetector. This heterojunction structure overcomes the weak light absorption and severe surface recombination in traditional silicon-based photodetectors. At the same time, graphene can be used both as a broad-spectrum absorption layer and as a transparent electrode to improve the response speed of heterojunction devices. Due to these two mechanisms, this photodetector had a high quantum efficiency of 97% at a wavelength of 780 nm and a short rise/fall time of 60/105µs. This device design promotes the development of silicon-based photodetectors and provides new possibilities for integrated photoelectric systems.

No abstract