Fluorescent nanomaterial-derived white light-emitting diodes: what's going on

White light-emitting diodes (white LEDs) have recently attracted substantial interest owing to their remarkable energy conservation. The evolution of fluorescent nanomaterials with tunable optical properties has provided an opportunity for light source design of white LEDs. However, the stability and performance of fluorescent nanomaterial-derived white LEDs still fail to meet the requirements of practical applications. It is therefore imperative to boost their overall device performance, which depends on not only the exploitation of advanced fluorescent nanomaterials but also the design of a superior light source. In this review, the achievements regarding fluorescent nanomaterials as color converters towards white LEDs are highlighted, including semiconductor nanocrystals or colloidal quantum dots (QDs), carbon-based nanoparticles, silicon QDs, and organic–inorganic fluorescent nanocomposites. The challenges and future perspectives in this research area are also discussed.