SnO2 has been extensively applied in the fields of optoelectronic
devices because of its large band gap, high exciton binding energy,
and outstanding optical/electrical properties. However, its applications
in ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are still hindered by
the dipole-forbidden rule. Herein, the dipole-forbidden rule can be
conquered by synthesizing Sb-incorporated SnO2 microwires
(SnO2:Sb MWs), which are examined by ultraviolet photoluminescence
emitting at 363.2 nm and a line width of 11.3 nm. Subsequently, a
highly monochromatic ultraviolet light-emitting diode (LED) based
on a SnO2:Sb MW heterojunction was constructed with a p-GaN
film serving as the hole supplier. In the LED, the presence of a MgO
intermediate layer can modulate carrier transport and recombination
path, thus achieving band-edge optical transition in the SnO2:Sb MW. As the LED is modified using Ag nanowires, electrical properties,
especially for the hole injection efficiency, were dramatically boosted,
contributing significantly to the device high brightness. The LED
emits at 365.9 nm and a line width of 12.4 nm. Therefore, we have
realized a high-brightness and narrow-band ultraviolet LED with the
shortest peak wavelength never seen in previously reported SnO2 LEDs. This work will promote the potential applications of
low-dimensional SnO2 optoelectronic devices and provide
an effective exemplification to overcome the dipole-forbidden rule
in metal-oxide materials with “forbidden” energy gaps.