Emission tunable AgInS2 quantum dots synthesized via microwave method for white light-emitting diodes application

Microwave organic phase preparation of AgInS2 quantum dots (QDs) is extremely essential to the large-scale, green and efficient preparation of AgInS2 QDs. Here, commercial glycerol is used as the microwave absorber to prepare AgInS2 QDs in nonpolar organic solvent octadecene at reaction temperature range of 100-180 degrees C. The AgInS2 QDs can be obtained within 15 min and exhibit tunable photoluminescent properties. After decorating by ZnS layer, the prepared AgInS2@ZnS core/shell QDs emitted a bright orange-yellow light under ultraviolet light irradiation, and its quantum yield increased from 13.66% to 33.10%. Moreover, it exhibited excellent spectral tunability among the range of 608.0 nm-549.8 nm with the molar ratios of Zn/AgIn changed from 0 to 3. Finally, a WLED was fabricated by combining AgInS2@ZnS QDs and Y3Al5-xGaxO12:Ce(3+ )phosphors with a blue chip, the color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT), and luminous efficiency (LE) of the device was 87.6, 3361 K, and 58.83 lm/W, respectively, indicating the great application prospect in illumination. The research explores a novel avenue for the fast and efficient synthesis of I-III-VI semiconductor QDs in nonpolar solvent via microwave method.

Automated summary

The microwave organic phase preparation of AgInS2 quantum dots is crucial for their large-scale, green, and efficient production. Using commercial glycerol as the microwave absorber, AgInS2 quantum dots were successfully synthesized in a nonpolar organic solvent. The prepared quantum dots exhibited tunable photoluminescent properties and an increased quantum yield after ZnS layer decoration. When combined with Y3Al5-xGaxO12:Ce(3+ )phosphors and a blue chip, a white light-emitting diode (WLED) with excellent color rendering, correlated color temperature, and luminous efficiency was fabricated, indicating promising applications in illumination. The research presents a novel approach for the fast and efficient synthesis of I-III-VI semiconductor quantum dots in a nonpolar solvent through microwave method.