Manipulation and Mechanistic Understanding of Exciton Spin Dynamics in a Chiral Inorganic Nanosystem via Facile pH‐Regulation

This study demonstrates effective manipulation of exciton spin dynamics in a prototypical chiral inorganic nanosystem, i.e., cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanosheets capped with chiral cysteine ligands in aqueous solution, via facile pH‐regulation that can directly modify the electronic coupling between CdSe and cysteine's thiol group through Cd─S bonding. The comparative scrutiny by using transient circular dichroism spectroscopy enables to decipher the pertinent mechanisms behind the pH‐regulated spin‐flip dynamics. The hole‐trapping interaction between the valence‐band heavy‐hole spin state of CdSe and the cysteine‐induced “extrinsic” surface state is found to play a dominant role in prolonging the hole spin relaxation lifetime (by more than threefold). This study also demonstrates a relevant application in modulating the sensitivity of circularly polarized light detection. This work sets a paradigm for harnessing the elusive interactions in chiral inorganic nanosystems to achieve desired spin‐polarization regulation, refreshing the fundamental understanding about the mechanisms of spin dynamics involved therein.