Electroluminescent metal oxide quantum dot devices for sustainable solid state lighting technologies

一般照明占世界总发电量的20%以上，并负责约19亿吨的二氧化碳排放。商业和工业部门占照明总需求的60%以上，它们正在寻求更安全、更高效、更持久的替代品，以取代传统使用的卤素和荧光光源。虽然固态照明被视为长期解决方案，但其在这些细分市场的广泛采用受到相对较高的成本的阻碍，这部分是由于使用战略缺陷和/或对环境有害的元素，以及设计和制造的复杂性。该项目的目标是与两家加拿大公司Metalumen Manufacturing和OTI Lumionics合作，开发基于坚固、环保和地球丰富的金属氧化物量子点的新型固态照明技术。利用稳态光谱和时间分辨光谱在系综和单纳米结构水平上的结合，以及理论建模，我们将阐明这些纳米结构的光致发光特性的起源，这些特性是由天然缺陷的存在引起的。我们将把这一基础研究的发现应用于合理设计和合成具有所需光谱特性的新型发光金属氧化物量子点。优化后的金属氧化物量子点随后将用作新型发光器件中的电致发光元件，该器件可以使用简单的溶液涂层和真空沉积技术制造，具有降低制造成本的潜力。在杂化金属氧化物纳米共轭物中诱导能量转移和外部操纵单个纳米晶体中的缺陷相互作用的能力将用于产生具有所需特性（色度、相关色温和显色指数）的白光，并最终实现光输出的动态调谐。该项目的成功实现将产生新的高效和可持续的照明技术，这将提高加拿大的竞争力，并为我们的工业合作伙伴开辟新的市场机会。

General lighting accounts for more than 20 percent of the word's total electricity production, and is responsible for ca. 1.9 gigatones of carbon dioxide emission. Commercial and industrial sectors, which together constitute over 60 % of the overall lighting demand, are seeking safer, more efficient, and longer lasting alternatives to traditionally used halogen and fluorescent sources. Although solid-state lighting is seen as the long-term solution, its broader adoption in these market segments is hampered by comparatively high cost, which is partly caused by the use of strategically deficient and/or environmentally harmful elements, as well as by the design and manufacturing complexity. In partnership with two Canadian companies, Metalumen Manufacturing and OTI Lumionics, the goal of this project is to develop novel solid state lighting technologies based on robust, environmentally benign, and earth-abundant metal oxide quantum dots. Using a combination of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies at the ensemble and single nanostructure levels, together with theoretical modelling, we will elucidate the origin of the photoluminescence properties of these nanostructures arising from the presence of native defects. We will apply the findings of this fundamental investigation for the rational design and synthesis of novel luminescent metal oxide quantum dots with the desired spectral properties. The optimized metal oxide quantum dots will subsequently be used as electroluminescent components in novel light emitting devices that can be fabricated using simple solution coating and vacuum deposition techniques, with the potential to lower manufacturing costs. The ability to induce energy transfer in hybrid metal oxide nanoconjugates and externally manipulate defect interactions in individual nanocrystals will be used to generate white light with desired characteristics (chromaticity, correlated colour temperature, and colour rendering index) and ultimately achieve dynamic tuning of the light output. Successful realization of this project will generate new efficient and sustainable lighting technologies which will improve Canada's competitiveness, and open new market opportunities for our industrial partners.