Carbon dots: Electroluminescent devices for lighting and display applications
Renjing Chen, Zhibin Wang, Song Zheng, Naizhong Jiang, Kebin Lin, Lingwei Zeng, Ruidan Zhang, Feng Huang, Daqin Chen
Abstract
Carbon dots (CDs) have garnered significant attention as next-generation optoelectronic materials due to their tunable photoluminescence, low toxicity, cost-effectiveness, and excellent photostability. However, CD-based light-emitting diodes (CD-LEDs) still underperform compared to their conventional heavy-metal-based counterparts, exhibiting challenges such as broad full-width at half-maximum, limited luminescence efficiency, and inferior charge transport abilities. To critically assess the current state of the field and guide future breakthroughs, this review provides a comprehensive analysis of CDs and their applications in LED technologies. We start by summarizing the latest developments in monochromatic CD-LEDs for display technologies, focusing on key aspects such as narrowband emission, high photoluminescence quantum yield, and exciton utilization. Subsequently, we discuss the progress in white CD-LEDs for lighting applications, with a focus on optimizing the color rendering index, correlated color temperature tunability, and performance-enhancing methodologies. Finally, we outline key challenges in CD-LED patterning technologies and propose solutions to accelerate their integration into next-generation high-resolution display applications.