Bright White-Light Emission from Semiconductor Nanocrystals: by Chance and by Design

The synthesis and characterization of two bright white‐light‐emitting semiconductor nanocrystal (NC)‐based systems is reported. CdS NCs emit white light because of the presence of surface states over the entire range of the visible spectrum, whereas CdSe/ZnS/CdSe/ZnS core/shell/shell/shell NCs are designed to emit white light as a result of the combination of blue and orange emissions from the shell and the core, respectively (see figure).