In the next decade,
we will witness the replacement of a majority
of conventional light sources with light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Efficient
LEDs other than phosphors can enhance their functionality and meet
different lighting needs. Quantum dots (QDs) have high potential for
future LED technology due to their sensitive band-gap tuning via the
quantum confinement effect and compositional control, high photoluminescence
quantum yield (PLQY), and mass-production capacity. Herein, we demonstrate
white LEDs using QDs that reach over 150 lumens per electrical Watt.
For that we synthesized green- and red-emitting ZnCdSe/ZnSe core/shell
QDs by low-temperature nucleation, high-temperature shell formation,
and postsynthetic trap-state removal. Their cadmium concentration
is lower than 100 ppm, satisfying the current EU RoHS regulations,
and their PLQY reaches a high level of 94%. The PLQY of QDs is maintained
within the device on blue LED via liquid injection, and their integration
at optimized optical densities leads to 129.6 and 170.4 lm/W for red-green-blue
(RGB)- and green-blue (GB)-based white LEDs, respectively. Our simulations
further showed that an efficiency level of over 230 lm/W is achievable
using ultraefficient blue LED pumps. The simple fabrication and high
performance of white LEDs using QD liquids show high promise for next-generation
lighting devices.