Intercrossed Carbon Nanorings with Pure Surface States as Low-Cost and Environment-Friendly Phosphors for White-Light-Emitting Diodes

As an important energy‐saving technique, white‐light‐emitting diodes (W‐LEDs) have been seeking for low‐cost and environment‐friendly substitutes for rare‐earth‐based expensive phosphors or Pd2+/Cd2+‐based toxic quantum dots (QDs). In this work, precursors and chemical processes were elaborately designed to synthesize intercrossed carbon nanorings (IC‐CNRs) with relatively pure hydroxy surface states for the first time, which enable them to overcome the aggregation‐induced quenching (AIQ) effect, and to emit stable yellow‐orange luminescence in both colloidal and solid states. As a direct benefit of such scarce solid luminescence from carbon nanomaterials, W‐LEDs with color coordinate at (0.28, 0.27), which is close to pure white light (0.33, 0.33), were achieved through using these low‐temperature‐synthesized and toxic ion‐free IC‐CNRs as solid phosphors on blue LED chips. This work demonstrates that the design of surface states plays a crucial role in exploring new functions of fluorescent carbon nanomaterials. Fluorescent nanomaterials: A one‐step hydrothermal method gives intercrossed carbon nanorings (see picture) with relatively pure hydroxy surface states. The hydroxy surface states make it possible to overcome aggregation‐induced quenching effects and to emit scarce stable yellow‐orange luminescence in both colloidal and solid states.