Doped quantum dot@silica nanocomposites for white light-emitting diodes

Donor Impurity in CdS/ZnS Spherical Quantum Dots under Applied Electric and Magnetic Fields

This article presents a theoretical study of the electronic, impurity-related, and nonlinear optical properties of CdS/ZnS quantum dots subjected to electric and magnetic fields. The magnetic field is applied along the z-axis, with the donor impurity always located in the center of the quantum dot. In the case of the electric field, two situations have been considered: applied along the z-axis and applied in the radial direction (central electric field). In both cases, the azimuthal symmetry (around the z-axis) is preserved. In the absence of a magnetic field and considering a central electric field, the system preserves its spherical symmetry both in the presence and in the absence of the donor impurity. The study is carried out in the effective mass approximation and it uses the finite element method to find the eigenfunctions and their corresponding energies, both in the presence and in the absence of the impurity. This work investigates the optical absorption coefficient and the relative change of the refractive index, considering only intraband transitions between l = 0 states (states with azimuthal symmetry concerning the z-axis). Calculations are for z-polarized incident radiation. The study shows that the combined effects of a central electric field and a z-directed magnetic field can give rise to a typical core/shell-like quantum confinement with oscillations of the electron ground state. Additionally, it is shown that the presence of the donor impurity suppresses such oscillations and it is responsible for blue shifts in the optical properties and magnifications of the corresponding resonances.

White-light-emitting hydrogels with self-healing properties and adjustable emission colors

White-light-emitting soft materials with self-healing properties show extensive applications in many fields. Herein, a novel self-healing hydrogel is successfully fabricated using oxidized dextran (Odex) and dithiodipropionate dihydrazide (TPH). Carbon dots (CDs), Riboflavin (Ri) and Rhodamine B (RhB) are incorporated into the gel matrix to produce white light emission through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) process, thus achieving excellent Commission Internationale de L'eclairage (CIE) coordinate value of (0.30, 0.33). The emission colors can be easily tuned via changing proportions of three emitters or the excitation wavelength. When the hydrogels are coated on an ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV LED), the hydrogel coating converts UV light to white light and repairs itself in 20 h while a hole is dug from it. Thanks to reversible exchanging reactions of acylhydrazone and disulfide bonds in hydrogel networks, the hydrogel coating exhibits perfect self-healing property in a wide range of pH (from 5 to 9 except for 7). The excellent emission and self-healing properties of hydrogels have great value in practical applications.

Highly Efficient and Thermally Stable QD-LEDs Based on Quantum Dots-SiO2-BN Nanoplate Assemblies

Silica encapsulation effectively elevates the resistance of quantum dots (QDs) against water and oxygen. However, QDs-SiO₂ composites present low thermal conductivity and strong thermal accumulation, leading to considerable fluorescence quenching of QDs in optoelectronic devices at high power. Here, a sandwich structural QDs-SiO₂-BN nanoplate assembly material (QDs-SiO₂-BNAs) is developed to reduce the thermal quenching and enhance the stability of QDs in LEDs. The QDs-SiO₂-BNAs is fabricated by embedding QDs-SiO₂ into the interlayer of layer-by-layer assembled BN nanoplates, and the BN nanoplates are pretreated by SiO₂ encapsulation to strengthen the interaction with QDs-SiO₂. This assembly structure endows the QDs with fast heat dissipation and double surface protection against air. The medium power QDs-converted LEDs (QD-LEDs) fabricated by direct on-chip packaging of the QDs-SiO₂-BNAs gain 44.2 °C temperature reduction at 0.5 W in comparison with conventional QD-LEDs. After aging, the resulting QD-LEDs present degradation of only 1.2% under sustained driving for 250 h. The QD-LEDs also pass the 1 week reliability test at 85 °C/85% RH with <±0.01 shift of the color coordinates, demonstrating the profound potential of the QDs-SiO₂-BNAs in LED lighting and display applications.

Recent advances in synthesis and application of perovskite quantum dot based composites for photonics, electronics and sensors

In recent years, halide perovskite quantum dots (HP-QDs) based composites have been widely developed and used in various applications owing to their unique photonic, electronic and mechanical properties, as well as high stability to water, oxygen, heat and illumination. Remarkable efforts have been made in the synthesis and applications of these materials in photonics, electronics, sensors and other fields. Besides these topics, we also cover enhancement of optoelectronic properties as well as chemical, thermal and photostability of HP-QDs-based composites. We hope this review will promote both the development and applications of perovskite-based materials.

Preparation of CdTe superparticles for white light-emitting diodes without Förster resonance energy transfer

Due to many unique and excellent optical properties, quantum dots (QDs) have been seen as one of the most promising color conversion materials in light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) among different colored QDs always causes a significant red-shift of the fluorescence emission, impeding the fabrication of LEDs with predicted photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra. In this work, we take advantage of CdTe superparticles (SPs), which are assembled by CdTe QDs, as the color conversion materials for the fabrication of WLEDs. Because of their submicron size, the distance between QDs with different emissions can be large enough to avoid the FRET process. More importantly, this method provides us with an opportunity to precisely design and regulate the PL emission spectra of LEDs. By easily overlapping the individual PL spectra of CdTe SPs with different emissions, the certain ratio of their usage for fabricating LEDs with desired PL emission spectra is identified. According to this idea, a WLED with a color rendering index (CRI) of 81, luminous efficacy of 27 lm W-1, and color coordinate at (0.33, 0.34) with the color temperature of 5742 K is achieved.

Two-Step-Enhanced Stability of Quantum Dots via Silica and Siloxane Encapsulation for the Long-Term Operation of Light-Emitting Diodes

Despite innovative optical properties of quantum dots (QDs) for QDs-converted light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs), the vulnerability of the QDs, against heat and moisture, has been a critical issue for commercialization and long-term use. To overcome the instabilities, we fabricated a thermally and photostable QDs-embedded silica/siloxane (S-QD/siloxane) film by embedding QDs in silica and siloxane encapsulation through a two-step sol-gel reaction. S-QDs were stably dispersed in the oligo-siloxane resin with even a QD concentration of 5 wt % without aggregation. The two-step physical barriers of silica and siloxane acted to decrease the toxicity of QDs and improve the stability against heat and moisture [85 °C/5% relative humidity (RH), 85 °C/85% RH, and 120 °C/5% RH], light (50 and 100 mA), and chemicals (ethanol, HCl, and NaOH). Our S-QD/siloxane film was applied as a color-conversion material on a blue LED chip without additional solidification and encapsulation processes for red and white QD-LEDs, exhibiting a wider color gamut (107% in CIE 1931) compared to NTSC. These enhancements indicate that our S-QD/siloxane film is a suitable material for long-term operation of QD-enhanced films and QD-LEDs in next-generation displays.

White light emitting device based on single-phase CdS quantum dots

White light emitting diodes (WLEDs) based on quantum dots (QDs) are emerging as robust candidates for white light sources, however they are suffering from the problem of energy loss resulting from the re-absorption and self-absorption among the employed QDs of different peak wavelengths. It still remains a challenging task to construct WLEDs based on single-phase QD emitters. Here, CdS QDs with short synthesis times are introduced to the fabrication of WLEDs. With a short synthesis time, on one hand, CdS QDs with a small diameter with blue emission can be obtained. On the other hand, surface reconstruction barely has time to occur, and the surface is likely defect-ridden, which enables the existence of a broad emission covering the range of green, yellow and red regions. This is essential for the white light emission of CdS QDs, and is very important for WLED applications. The temporal evolution of the PL spectra for CdS QDs was obtained to investigate the influence of growth time on the luminescent properties. The CdS QDs with a growth time of 0.5 min exhibited a colour rendering index (CRI) of 79.5 and a correlated colour temperature (CCT) of 6238 K. With increasing reaction time, the colour coordinates of the CdS QDs will move away from the white light region in the CIE 1931 chromaticity diagram. By integrating the as prepared white light emission CdS QDs with a violet GaN chip, WLEDs were fabricated. The fabricated WLEDs exhibited a CRI of 87.9 and a CCT of 4619 K, which satisfy the demand of general illumination. The luminous flux and the luminous efficiency of the fabricated WLEDs, being less advanced than current commercial white light sources, can be further improved, meaning there is a need for much more in-depth studies on white light emission CdS QDs.

Toward Highly Luminescent and Stabilized Silica-Coated Perovskite Quantum Dots through Simply Mixing and Stirring under Room Temperature in Air

Methylammonium (MA) lead halide (MAPbX₃, X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) are very sensitive to environment (moisture, oxygen, and temperature), suffering from poor stability. To improve the stability, we synthesized silica-coated PQDs (SPQDs) by an improved ligand-assisted reprecipitation method through simply mixing and stirring under room temperature in air without adding water and catalyst, the whole process took only a few seconds. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the SPQDs can be tuned continuously from 460 to 662 nm via adjusting the composition proportion of precursors. The highest PL quantum yields (PLQYs) of blue-, green-, and red-emissive SPQDs are 56, 95, and 70%, respectively. The SPQDs show remarkably improved environmental and thermal stability compared to the naked PQDs because of effective barrier created by the coated silica between the core materials and the ambience. Furthermore, it is found that different light-emitting SPQDs can maintain their original PL properties after mixing of them and anion-exchange reactions have not happened. These attributes were then used to mix green- and yellow-emissive SPQDs with polystyrene (PS) to form color-converting layers for the fabrication of white light-emitting devices (WLEDs). The WLEDs exhibit excellent white light characteristics with CIE 1931 color coordinates of (0.31, 0.34) and color rendering index (CRI) of 85, demonstrating promising applications of SPQDs in lighting and displays.

Highly stable CsPbBr3@SiO2 nanocomposites prepared via confined condensation for use as a luminescent ink

Stable CsPbBr₃@SiO₂ nanocomposites in polar solvents were prepared via an organosilicon ligand-assisted re-precipitation method with polystyrene preventing excessive particle cross-linking and aggregation.

Near-complete photoluminescence retention and improved stability of InP quantum dots after silica embedding for their application to on-chip-packaged light-emitting diodes

Silica is the most commonly used oxide encapsulant for passivating fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) against degradable conditions. Such a silica encapsulation has been conventionally implemented via a Stöber or reverse microemulsion process, mostly targeting CdSe-based QDs to date. However, both routes encounter a critical issue of considerable loss in photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY) compared to pristine QDs after silica growth. In this work, we explore the embedment of multishelled InP/ZnSeS/ZnS QDs, whose stability is quite inferior to CdSe counterparts, in a silica matrix by means of a tetramethyl orthosilicate-based, waterless, catalyst-free synthesis. It is revealed that the original QY (80%) of QDs is nearly completely retained in the course of the present silica embedding reaction. The resulting QD–silica composites are then placed in degradable conditions such UV irradiation, high temperature/high humidity, and operation of an on-chip-packaged light-emitting diode (LED) to attest to the efficacy of silica passivation on QD stability. Particularly, the promising results with regard to device efficiency and stability of the on-chip-packaged QD-LED firmly suggest the effectiveness of the present silica embedding strategy in not only maximally retaining QY of QDs but effectively passivating QDs, paving the way for the realization of a highly efficient, robust QD-LED platform.

Silica embedding strategy enabling a nearly full PL retention of the original QY of InP QDs is proposed for the realization of a highly efficient, robust QD-LED platform.

Cd-free Cu-Zn-In-S/ZnS quantum dots@SiO2 multiple cores nanostructure: preparation and application for white LEDs

The work reports the fabrication of Cu doped Zn-In-S (CZIS) alloy quantum dots (QDs) using dodecanethiol and oleic acid as stabilizing ligands. With the increase of doped Cu element, the photoluminescence (PL) peak is monotonically red shifted. After coating ZnS shell, the PL quantum yield of CZIS QDs can reach 78%. Using reverse micelle microemulsion method, CZIS/ZnS QDs@SiO₂ multi-core nanospheres were synthesized to improve the colloidal stability and avoid the aggregation of QDs. The obtained multi-core nanospheres were dispersed in curing adhesive, and applied as a color conversion layer in down converted light-emitting diodes. After encapsulation in curing adhesive, the newly designed LEDs show artifically regulated color coordinates with varying the weight ratio of green QDs and red QDs, and the concentrations of these two types of QDs. Moreover, natural white and warm white LEDs with correlated color temperature of 5287, 6732, 2731, and 3309 K can be achieved, which indicates that CZIS/ZnS QDs@SiO₂ nanostructures are promising color conversion layer material for solid-state lighting application.

Quantum dot white light emitting diodes with high scotopic/photopic ratios

Alloy core/shell Cd_xZn_1-xS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) are emerging as robust candidates for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), however the emission range of the current Cd_xZn_1-xS/ZnS is quite limited, ranging from 390 to 470 nm. It still remains a challenging task to construct white LEDs based on current Cd_xZn_1-xS/ZnS system. Here, a versatile ZnSe with a moderate band gap is introduced onto the Cd_0.1Zn_0.9S core. The ZnSe shell, on one hand, can passivate the core surface which leads to bright emissions. On the other hand, it is essential in extending the emission to red region so that the emission wavelengths of Cd_0.1Zn_0.9S/ZnS and Cd_0.1Zn_0.9S/ZnSe QDs can cover the whole visible region, which is very important for white LED applications. Two- and four-hump QD-based LEDs are computationally and experimentally investigated. Results show that four-hump quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLED) have better performances than the two-hump one, in the luminous and the vision properties. The fabricated white LEDs (WLEDs) based on Cd_0.1Zn_0.9S/ZnS and Cd_0.1Zn_0.9S/ZnSe QDs exhibits a scotopic/photopic ratio (S/P) ratio as high as 2.52, which exceeds the current limit of 2.50 by common lighting technologies, a color rendering index of 90.3, a luminous efficacy of optical radiation of 460.78 lumen per unit optical power, and a correlated color temperature of 5454 K. These results suggest that Cd_xZn_1-xS/ZnS and Cd_xZn_1-xS/ZnSe quantum dots serving as emitters hold great promise for the next-generation white light source with better S/P ratio.

Compound Copper Chalcogenide Nanocrystals

This review captures the synthesis, assembly, properties, and applications of copper chalcogenide NCs, which have achieved significant research interest in the last decade due to their compositional and structural versatility. The outstanding functional properties of these materials stems from the relationship between their band structure and defect concentration, including charge carrier concentration and electronic conductivity character, which consequently affects their optoelectronic, optical, and plasmonic properties. This, combined with several metastable crystal phases and stoichiometries and the low energy of formation of defects, makes the reproducible synthesis of these materials, with tunable parameters, remarkable. Further to this, the review captures the progress of the hierarchical assembly of these NCs, which bridges the link between their discrete and collective properties. Their ubiquitous application set has cross-cut energy conversion (photovoltaics, photocatalysis, thermoelectrics), energy storage (lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen generation), emissive materials (plasmonics, LEDs, biolabelling), sensors (electrochemical, biochemical), biomedical devices (magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray computer tomography), and medical therapies (photochemothermal therapies, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, and drug delivery). The confluence of advances in the synthesis, assembly, and application of these NCs in the past decade has the potential to significantly impact society, both economically and environmentally.

Solid Solution Quantum Dots with Tunable Dual or Ultrabroadband Emission for LEDs

Quantum dots that efficiently emit white light directly or feature a "candle-like" orange photoluminescence with a high Stokes shift are presented. The key to obtaining these unique emission properties is through controlled annealing of the core Cu-In-Ga-S quantum dots in the presence of zinc ions, thus forming Zn-Cu-In-Ga-S solid solutions with different distributions of the substitution and dopant elements. The as-obtained nanocrystals feature excellent quantum yields of up to 82% with limited or even eliminated reabsorption and a color rendering index of bare particles of up to 88, enabling the production of high-quality white LEDs using a single color converter layer. Furthermore, the color properties can be tuned by changing the experimental conditions as well as by varying the excitation wavelength. The multicomponent luminescence mechanism is discussed in detail based on similar literature reports. White LEDs with unparalleled color quality and competitive luminous efficacies are presented herein.

Tunable White Fluorescent Copper Gallium Sulfide Quantum Dots Enabled by Mn Doping

Fluorescence of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) can be tuned by engineering the band gap via size and composition control and further doping them with impurity ions. Targeting on highly bright white-emissive I-III-VI -type copper gallium sulfide (Cu-Ga-S, CGS) host QDs with the entire visible spectral coverage of blue to red, herein, Mn(2+) ion doping, through surface adsorption and lattice diffusion is fulfilled. Upon doping a distinct Mn emission from (4)T1-(6)A1 transition successfully appears in white photoluminescence (PL) of undoped CGS/ZnS core/shell QDs and with varying Mn concentration a systematic white spectral evolution of CGS:Mn/ZnS QDs is achievable with high PL quantum yield retained. The origins of white PL of CGS:Mn/ZnS QDs that is well decomposed into three emission bands are appropriately assigned. The resulting single-phased, doped QDs are then employed as near-UV-to-white down converters for the fabrication of white light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Electroluminescent properties of white QD-LEDs depending on Mn concentration of CGS:Mn/ZnS QDs and forward current are also discussed in detail.

White light emission from quantum dot and a UV-visible emitting Pd-complex on its surface

Near white light emission (CIE 0.35, 0.29) has been achieved as a combination of intraligand transition, aggregate induced emission and dopant emission followed by surface complexation on Qdot surface.