Carbon dots (CDs), as emerging carbon nanomaterials, have been regarded as promising alternatives for electroluminescent light-emitting diodes (LEDs) owing to their distinct characteristics, such as low toxicity, tuneable photoluminescence, and… Click to show full abstract
Carbon dots (CDs), as emerging carbon nanomaterials, have been regarded as promising alternatives for electroluminescent light-emitting diodes (LEDs) owing to their distinct characteristics, such as low toxicity, tuneable photoluminescence, and good photostability. In the last few years, despite remarkable progress achieved in CD-based LEDs, their device performance is still inferior to that of well-developed organic, heavy-metal-based QDs and perovskite LEDs. To better exploit LED applications and boost device performance, in this review, we present a comprehensive overview of currently explored CDs, focusing on their key optical characteristics, which are closely related to the structural design of CDs from their carbon core to surface modifications to macroscopic structural engineering, including the embedding of CDs in the matrix or spatial arrangement of CDs. The design of CD-based LEDs for display and lighting applications based on the fluorescence, phosphorescence, and delayed fluorescence emission of CDs is also highlighted. Finally, we conclude with a discussion regarding the key challenges and plausible prospects in this field. We hope this review inspires more extensive research on CDs from a new perspective and promotes practical applications of CD-based LEDs in multiple directions of current and future research. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
               
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