Aqueous-Based Cadmium Telluride Quantum Dot/Polyurethane/Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane Composites for Color Enhancement in Display Backlights

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are gaining prominence in the lighting and display industry, due to their tunable and saturated emission colors. Their primary application is currently in optical enhancement films for large sized liquid crystal displays, improving the performance in terms of color reproduction and optical efficiency. While most current QD materials in this regard are synthesized and processed in organic media, this work introduces aqueous-based CdTe QDs as a viable alternative for display applications. After discussing relevant aspects of the aqueous synthesis, we demonstrate the fabrication of all-water processed free-standing CdTe QD/polyurethane films, with high flexibility and transparency. Additional introduction of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane results in a better dispersion of the QDs in the polymer matrix and improves the optical properties and especially photo/thermal stabilities of the composites, which is crucial regarding their application in display backlights.