Optical and Thermal Characterization of a Nanofluid of MPA-functionalized CdSe Nanocrystals and Au Nanorods: an Energy Transfer Process Analysis

This study investigates the optical and energy transfer properties of mercaptopropionic acid (MPA)-functionalized CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) and gold nanorods (AuNRs) into aqueous solution. CdSe NCs of different sizes exhibit size-dependent excitonic transitions, with larger sizes resulting in red shifted absorption and emission peaks. MPA surface modification induces deep trap emissions in CdSe NCs. Thermal lens measurements reveal that the addition of CdSe NCs decreases the thermal diffusivity, while the presence of AuNRs increases it. The energy transfer efficiency between CdSe NCs and AuNRs in the nanofluids was observed, with CdSe1+Au60 showing the highest energy transfer efficiency of 0.75. These findings emphasize the significance of MPA functionalization in enhancing energy transfer efficiency between NCs and AuNRs, with implications for improving the performance of photovoltaic systems.