Harnessing electro-generated excitons for tunable lanthanide nanocrystal electroluminescence

Harnessing electro-generated excitons for tunable lanthanide nanocrystal electroluminescence | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article Harnessing electro-generated excitons for tunable lanthanide nanocrystal electroluminescence Xiaogang Liu, Jing Tan, Xiaoqing Song, Chunmiao Han, Feng Wang, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5812119/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 19 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Nature → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Lanthanide nanocrystals are promising candidates for electrically powered light-emitting diodes (LEDs) due to their narrow-band emission, high color purity, and broad color turnability. However, their insulating nature poses a challenge for carrier transport and injection, impeding their application in optoelectronic devices. Here we demonstrate efficient electroluminescence from insulating lanthanide fluoride nanocrystals (5 nm; NaGdF4:Tb3+ or NaGdF4:Eu3+) coated with a series of functionalized 2-(diphenylphosphoryl)benzoic acids (ArPPOA). These ligands, featuring donor-phosphine oxide acceptor hybrids with carboxyl and P=O coordination sites, effectively sensitize the luminescence of lanthanide nanocrystals. By modulating the intensity of intra-ligand charge transfer, the first singlet (S1) and triplet (T1) energy levels of ArPPOA are precisely adjusted to optimize intersystem crossing (ISC), reverse ISC, and the interplay between singlet Förster resonance energy transfer and triplet Dexter energy transfer to the nanocrystals. Through careful control of dopant composition and concentration in nanocrystals, we also achieve wide-ranging multicolor electroluminescence without altering the device architecture, reaching an external quantum efficiency exceeding 5% for Tb3+. This ligand-functionalized nanocrystal platform provides a versatile and efficient approach for realizing wide-band tunable electroluminescent emissions. Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for devices/Electronic devices Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Lasers, LEDs and light sources/Inorganic LEDs Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 19 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Nature → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5812119","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":405014922,"identity":"3a0dda61-f3c5-4cbb-a03a-b0be7a22a2fb","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaogang 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However, their insulating nature poses a challenge for carrier transport and injection, impeding their application in optoelectronic devices. Here we demonstrate efficient electroluminescence from insulating lanthanide fluoride nanocrystals (5 nm; NaGdF4:Tb3+ or NaGdF4:Eu3+) coated with a series of functionalized 2-(diphenylphosphoryl)benzoic acids (ArPPOA). These ligands, featuring donor-phosphine oxide acceptor hybrids with carboxyl and P=O coordination sites, effectively sensitize the luminescence of lanthanide nanocrystals. By modulating the intensity of intra-ligand charge transfer, the first singlet (S1) and triplet (T1) energy levels of ArPPOA are precisely adjusted to optimize intersystem crossing (ISC), reverse ISC, and the interplay between singlet Förster resonance energy transfer and triplet Dexter energy transfer to the nanocrystals. Through careful control of dopant composition and concentration in nanocrystals, we also achieve wide-ranging multicolor electroluminescence without altering the device architecture, reaching an external quantum efficiency exceeding 5% for Tb3+. 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