The influence of a single thiol group on the electronic and optical properties of the smallest diamondoid adamantane.
At the nanoscale, the surface becomes pivotal for the properties of semiconductors due to an increased surface-to-bulk ratio. Surface functionalization is a means to include semiconductor nanocrystals into devices. In this comprehensive experimental study we determine in detail the effect of a single thiol functional group on the electronic and optical properties of the hydrogen-passivated nanodiamond adamantane. We find that the optical properties of the diamondoid are strongly affected due to a drastic change in the occupied states. Compared to adamantane, the optical gap in adamantane-1-thiol is lowered by approximately 0.6 eV and UV luminescence is quenched. The lowest unoccupied states remain delocalized at the cluster surface leaving the diamondoid's negative electron affinity intact.
Landt
Lasse
L
Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Eugene-Wigner-Bldg. EW 3-1, Hardenbergstr. 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany. landt@physik.tu-berlin.de
Staiger
Matthias
M
Wolter
David
D
Klünder
Kathrin
K
Zimmermann
Peter
P
Willey
Trevor M
TM
van Buuren
Tony
T
Brehmer
Daniel
D
Schreiner
Peter R
PR
Tkachenko
Boryslav A
BA
Fokin
Andrey A
AA
Möller
Thomas
T
Bostedt
Christoph
C