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

Abstract

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).