Near-white emitting QD-LED based on hydrophilic CdS nanocrystals

In this work we report fabrication of a nanocrystal (NC)-based hybrid organic–inorganic LED with structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PVK/CdS-NCs/(Al or Mg:Ag). The hydrophilic CdS NCs were synthesized using a novel aqueous thermochemical method at 80 °C and sizes (around 2 nm) were controlled by thioglycolic acid (TGA) as the capping agent. The favorite feature of these NCs is their relatively high emission intensity and broad, near-white emission. The hydrophilic CdS NCs were successfully spin coated using Triton X-100 as the wetting agent. The fabricated LEDs demonstrated a turn on voltage about 7 V for Al metallic contact. The electroluminescence was a broad spectrum at 540 and 170 nm width, which was about 50 nm red shifted compared to photoluminescence spectra. The CIE color coordinates of the LED at (0.33, 0.43) demonstrated a near white light LED with an emission on green–yellow boundary of white. Annealing of the device up to 190 °C had a positive effect on the performance, possibly due to better contacts between layers. Replacing Al contacts with Mg:Ag reduced the turn-on voltage to 6 V and changed CIE color coordinate to (0.32, 0.41). The EL peak was also shifted to 525 nm, with a brightness of 15 Cd/m 2 at working voltage of 15 V. The current efficiency and external quantum efficiency of device were 0.08 Cd/A and 0.03% at current densities higher than 10 mA/cm 2. ► CdS NCs were synthesized using a novel thermochemical approach. ► Synthesized NCs were quite hydrophilic and considerably well dispersed in water. ► CdS NCs were used as emissive layer of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PVK/CdS NCs/Al or Mg:Ag QD-LED. ► Fabricated device demonstrated a near white emission with (0.32, 0.41) CIE coordinates. ► Annealing of device was performed and proved effective in efficiency enhancement.