Passivating defects in ZnO electron transport layer for enhancing performance of red InP-based quantum dot light-emitting diodes

ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) are considered the most promising materials for electron transport layer (ETL) in quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). Herein, we employed a synergistic strategy of Mg doping and ZnMgO shell coating to modify the defect states and energy levels of ZnO NPs. Mg doping mitigated the exciton luminescence quenching caused by charge transfer. A ZnMgO shell was also applied to coat the Mg-doped ZnO (ZMO) NPs to passivate surface oxygen defects further. Consequently, QLEDs utilizing ZMO@ZnMgO ETL demonstrate external quantum efficiency and maximum current efficiency of 9.0 % and 11.5 cd A−1. This work shows an effective defect passivation strategy to enhance the performance of red-emitting InP-based QLEDs.