Material and device engineering for high-performance blue quantum dot light-emitting diodes

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have attracted extensive attention due to their excellent optoelectronic properties, such as high quantum efficiency, narrow emission peaks, high color saturation, high stability and solution processability. Compared with the traditional display technology, QD based light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) show broad application prospects in the field of flat-panel displays and solid-state lighting. However, for full-color displays, the efficiency and lifetime of blue QLEDs are inferior to those of their green and red counterparts. Therefore, it is urgent for us to deeply understand the device physics and improve the performance of blue QLEDs through material and device engineering. An in-depth understanding of the optoelectronic properties (such as the structure of electronic states, electron-phonon interactions, Auger processes, etc.) and material engineering (such as size distribution control, composition control, and surface engineering) of blue emission QDs is greatly helpful for their applications in other fields. Herein, we review the key progress in the area of blue QLEDs, including the compositions and nanostructures of blue quantum dots, advances in the device architectures and the improvement of the device lifetime of blue QLEDs. The key factors that influence the blue device performance, including the nanostructure design and surface modification of QDs, interface engineering and architecture design of devices are discussed, aiming to propose possible solutions for these challenges, which will help to promote the commercialization process of QLEDs.