Enhanced light emission of quantum dot films by scattering of poly(zinc methacrylate) coating CdZnSeS/ZnS quantum dots and high refractive index BaTiO3 nanoparticles

Quantum dots (QDs) have received considerable attention in information displays owing to their high quantum yield, high colour purity and low-cost fabrication. However, light emission for ultra-thin QD films with low mass percentage of QDs still need to be improved because the blue light can directly transmit the films, leading to insufficient energy to excite the QDs. In this study, we report QD films based on a poly(zinc methacrylate) coating with alloyed green-emitting CdZnSeS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs@PZnMA) together with high refractive-index BaTiO3 nanoparticles to enhance the scattering coefficient of the QD films. Results demonstrate a 7.5-fold increase in the absorption coefficient, 11.3-fold increase in the scattering coefficient, 8.5-fold increase in the optical density (OD) and 8.6-fold increase in the green-light emission of QD films, compared with films that have the same mass percentage of pristine QDs. This approach provides a promising strategy for developing QD optical films with high scattering and enhanced light emission for flexible displays.