Highly Efficient Cd-Free Alloyed Core/Shell Quantum Dots with Optimized Precursor Concentrations

The chemical composition, the emission spectral bandwidth, and photoluminescence quantum yield of a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) play an important role in the assessment of the performance of the applications related to the quantum dots. Quantum dots based on environmentally friendly compositions with high optical performance have been in demand for high-end technological applications. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a detailed synthesis approach for environmentally friendly and highly efficient InPZnS alloy/ZnS shell quantum dots. Following a systematic study of the ratio and type of the precursors involved, we achieved alloyed core shell InPZnS/ZnS QDs with tunable emission across the visible spectrum, having a record quantum efficiency up to 78% along with a full width at half-maximum as narrow as 45 nm. The effect of the systematic shell growth has been further investigated using time-resolved photoluminescence characterizations along with the observation of the suppression of the nonradiative decay channels, with the photoluminescence lifetime prolonged from 20.3 to 50.4 ns. The development of highly efficient and environmentally friendly QDs will pave the way for robust, sustainable optoelectronic applications.