Electrochemically-stable ligands bridge the photoluminescence-electroluminescence gap of quantum dots.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32071297.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-14756-5 and PMC identifier 7028909.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Colloidal quantum dots are promising emitters for quantum-dot-based light-emitting-diodes. Though quantum dots have been synthesized with efficient, stable, and high colour-purity photoluminescence, inheriting their superior luminescent properties in light-emitting-diodes remains challenging. This is commonly attributed to unbalanced charge injection and/or interfacial exciton quenching in the devices. Here, a general but previously overlooked degradation channel in light-emitting-diodes, i.e., operando electrochemical reactions of surface ligands with injected charge carriers, is identified. We develop a strategy of applying electrochemically-inert ligands to quantum dots with excellent luminescent properties to bridge their photoluminescence-electroluminescence gap. This material-design principle is general for boosting electroluminescence efficiency and lifetime of the light-emitting-diodes, resulting in record-long operational lifetimes for both red-emitting light-emitting-diodes (T<sub>95</sub> > 3800 h at 1000 cd m<sup>-2</sup>) and blue-emitting light-emitting-diodes (T<sub>50</sub> > 10,000 h at 100 cd m<sup>-2</sup>). Our study provides a critical guideline for the quantum dots to be used in optoelectronic and electronic devices.