Issue 39, 2020, Issue in Progress

Enhancing the performance of blue quantum-dot light-emitting diodes through the incorporation of polyethylene glycol to passivate ZnO as an electron transport layer

Abstract

The balance between charge transport and charge injection is always a key factor in enhancing the performance of quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs), particularly for the blue QDs due to their large optical band gap and relatively low valence band level compared with their green and red counterparts. High performance blue QD-LEDs have been demonstrated by blending polyethylene glycol (PEG) into solution-processed ZnO nanocrystals as the electron transport layer. PEG can effectively tune the electron mobility of ZnO and simultaneously passivate its surface defect states. As a result, the maximum current efficiency (CE) and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the blue QD-LEDs increased from 4.33 cd A−1 and 9.98% for pure ZnO to 8.03 cd A−1 and 14.84% for 4% PEG blended into ZnO, respectively. Furthermore, operational lifetime of the device is also significantly improved from 8.95 h to 25.06 h. This result indicates that PEG is a promising material for regulating the charge balance of the blue QD-LEDs.

Graphical abstract: Enhancing the performance of blue quantum-dot light-emitting diodes through the incorporation of polyethylene glycol to passivate ZnO as an electron transport layer

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 Apr 2020
Accepted
01 Jun 2020
First published
17 Jun 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2020,10, 23121-23127

Enhancing the performance of blue quantum-dot light-emitting diodes through the incorporation of polyethylene glycol to passivate ZnO as an electron transport layer

J. Sun, J. Huang, X. Lan, F. Zhang, L. Zhao and Y. Zhang, RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 23121 DOI: 10.1039/D0RA03846F

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