A Flexible Blue Light-Emitting Diode Based on ZnO Nanowire/Polyaniline Heterojunctions

An organic/inorganic light-emitting diode (LED) consisting of n-type vertically aligned ZnO nanowires (NWs) and p-type proton acid doped polyaniline (PANi) is reported. The device was fabricated on flexible indium-tin-oxide (ITO) coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. A broad blue light emission band ranging from 390 nm to 450 nm was observed in the electroluminescence (EL) spectra of the device, which was related to the interface recombination of electrons in the conduction band of ZnO NWs and holes in the polaron level of PANi. The turn-on voltage of the device is ~3.5 V, lower than most of ZnO NWs based LED devices. In combination with the easy fabrication, flexibility, low power consumption, and mechanical robustness, this novel device is very promising in the application of blue LEDs.