Doped ZnO nanoparticles for WLED application

International audienceZnO can have excellent optical properties as a wide bandgap semiconductor with numerous intrinsic defects. The visible photoluminescence (PL) of ZnO originating from defects makes it a promising candidate for optoelectronic applications, such as white light emitting diodes (WLEDs). Since the industrialized WLEDs materials are dominated by rare-earth based phosphors, which are expensive and environmentally-unfriendly, ZnO provides a cheap and “green” way out for lighting devices. In our previous study, a hybrid sphere structure of ZnO nanoparticles and polyacrylic acid (PAA) matrix fabricated through a hydrolysis method has proven an efficient material emitting intensively in the visible range. [1] Herein, various dopants are introduced into ZnO hybrid structure in the same manner in order to optimize the photoluminescence of ZnO nanoparticles. Effects of dopant nature, size and valence are investigated at different doping concentrations at room temperature. The emission color of doped ZnO nanoparticles can be tuned in a wide visible range between yellow and green and the photoluminescent quantum yield (PL QY) can be improved by specific doping.References[1] Zhu, Y., A. Apostoluk, P. Gautier, A. Valette, L. Omar, T. Cornier, J. M. Bluet, K. Masenelli-Varlot, S. Daniele, and B. Masenelli. Scientific reports 6 (2016): 23557