Metal-organic framework supported carbon quantum dots as white light-emitting phosphor

The growing environmental concerns regarding rare earth elements in fluorescent powders, along with high production costs, have increased the demand for sustainable alternatives. We propose a promising solution using luminescent metal-organic frameworks (LMOFs) with large surface areas and tunable pore structures, combined with organic carbon quantum dots (CQDs). This study develops a novel white light-emitting diode (WLED) fluorescent powder by incorporating yellow-fluorescent quantum dots (CQDs-Y) into blue-emitting LMOF (ZJU-28), forming the composite material CQDs-Y-n@ZJU-28. The composite exhibits excellent thermal and chemical stability, long-term storage performance, and emits warm white light (CIE: 0.3277, 0.3281) when subjected to excitation at 365 nm, along with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 8.85 %. Furthermore, it exhibits tunable emission characteristics and promising LED performance, showcasing a color rendering index (CRI) of 78 and a correlated color temperature of 3384 K. The emitted light undergoes minimal deviation in color towards the white end of the spectrum in the temperature range of 277–437 K, making it an ideal candidate for advanced WLED applications.