Multicolor electroluminescent devices using doped ZnS nanocrystals

Abstract

Alternate-current electroluminescent (ac EL) devices based on doped ZnS nanocrystals emitting blue, green, and orange-red colors are reported. ZnS nanocrystals doped with Cu+–Al3+ and Cu+–Al3+–Mn2+ combinations were synthesized by wet chemical method at room temperature. The ZnS:Cu+, Al3+ nanocrystals show blue (462 nm) and green (530 nm) EL emissions depending upon the presence and absence of sulphur vacancies, respectively. The orange EL emission (590 nm) is realized from ZnS:Cu+, Al3+, Mn2+ nanoparticles by way of nonradiative energy transfer from AlZn–CuZn pairs to MnZn. The EL devices show low turn-on voltage of ∼10 V ac @100 Hz. The mechanism of ac EL in ZnS nanocrystals has been explained wherein the excitation is attributed to the electric-field-assisted injection of electron-hole pairs from the surface regions into the interiors and their subsequent recombination therein causes emission.