Solid-State Photoluminescence in Carbon-Based Light Emitting Devices

Solid-state photoluminescence in carbon-based light emitting devices centres on the ability of carbon nanomaterials—principally carbon dots and related nano-dots—to emit light when excited by an external source. These materials combine facile synthesis, low toxicity and tunable optical properties, making them compelling alternatives to conventional rare-earth phosphors. In the transition from solution to solid state, aggregation-caused quenching poses a major obstacle, as closely packed particles often suffer non-radiative energy loss. Recent advances have addressed this by engineering surface functions, embedding carbon cores within polymeric or crystalline matrices and exploiting molecular-state chromophores to regulate electronic bandgaps. These approaches have yielded colour-tunable films, white-light conversion layers and near-infrared emitters, enabling integration into LEDs for general illumination, display technologies, visible-light communication and horticultural lighting. The growing repertoire of synthesis and processing strategies underpins a shift towards sustainable, high-performance carbon-based photoluminescent devices with broad commercial and societal impact.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Polymerisable silane-functionalised carbon dots have been employed directly as both colour-conversion and encapsulation layers on blue-LED chips, producing white LEDs with high transparency, stable emission and insensitivity to excitation wavelength or driving current. This single-material system rivals or surpasses traditional rare-earth phosphors in processability and optical performance, heralding flexible designs for solid-state lighting. Complementary work on surfactant-stabilised organic nano-dots has demonstrated nearly complete conversion of molecular fluorophores into sub-micrometre particles, yielding water-dispersible colour conversion layers with exemplary colour purity across the visible spectrum and superior long-term stability compared with inorganic quantum-dot counterparts. These nano-dots deliver efficient light conversion, narrow emission bandwidths and robust photostability, signalling a new class of eco-friendly, high-performance phosphors for display and lighting applications.

Solid-State Photoluminescence in Carbon-Based Light Emitting Devices publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in solid-state photoluminescence in carbon-based light emitting devices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Photoluminescence: The emission of light from a material following absorption of photons, involving radiative recombination of excited electrons and holes.

Carbon Dot: Nanoscale, quasi-spherical carbon-based particles (typically <10 nm) with surface functional groups that exhibit tunable photoluminescence.

Aggregation-Caused Quenching (ACQ): A loss of luminescence efficiency occurring when photoluminescent particles aggregate, leading to non-radiative energy dissipation.

Quantum Yield: The ratio of emitted photons to absorbed photons, indicating the efficiency of a luminescent process.

Colour Conversion Layer: A thin film of phosphor or luminescent material that absorbs light of one wavelength and re-emits it at longer wavelengths to achieve desired emission spectra.

References

1. Achieving Color‐Tunable Solid‐State Fluorescence by Adjusting the Molecular‐State Chromophores on Carbonized Polymer Dots. Small Structures (2024).
2. Solid‐State Fluorescent Carbon Dots with Unprecedented Efficiency from Visible to Near‐Infrared Region. Advanced Science (2022).
3. Synthesis of fluorescent organic nano-dots and their application as efficient color conversion layers. Nature Communications (2022).