Ion agent mitigates efficiency roll-off in near-infrared electroluminescence for practical bioimaging and information encryption

Tao Yang; Ye Wang; Zong-Shuo Liu; Feng Zhao; Wei-Zhi Liu; Wan-Shan Shen; Ya-Kun Wang; Liang-Sheng Liao

doi:10.1038/s41377-026-02237-1

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Ion agent mitigates efficiency roll-off in near-infrared electroluminescence for practical bioimaging and information encryption

Original Articles

- Ion agent mitigates efficiency roll-off in near-infrared electroluminescence for practical bioimaging and information encryption
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 15, Issue 8, Pages: 2544-2554(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, State Key Laboratory of Bioinspired Interfacial Materials Science, Soochow University, 215123 Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
  2.Macao Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR, 999078 Taipa, China
- Author bio：
  
  Ya-Kun Wang (wangyakun@suda.edu.cn)
  Liang-Sheng Liao (lsliao@suda.edu.cn)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-026-02237-1
  CLC：
- Received：18 December 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-02-09，
  
  Accepted：09 February 2026，
  
  Online First：07 May 2026，
  
  Published：31 August 2026
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Yang, T. et al. Ion agent mitigates efficiency roll-off in near-infrared electroluminescence for practical bioimaging and information encryption. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 2544-2554 (2026).
DOI：

Yang, T. et al. Ion agent mitigates efficiency roll-off in near-infrared electroluminescence for practical bioimaging and information encryption. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 2544-2554 (2026). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-026-02237-1.

摘要

Abstract

Perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) are promising emitters for next-generation light-emitting diodes (LEDs)

yet PQD-based near-infrared (NIR) LEDs still suffer from low e

xternal quantum efficiencies (EQEs) and severe efficiency roll-off. This limitation arises from the trade-off between enhancing carrier transport with conductive ligands and preserving PQD surface integrity during ligand exchange. Here

we report an ionic liquid-mediated surface reconstruction strategy that simultaneously stabilizes PQD surface and enhances charge transport. Incorporating the multifunctional ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide (MPII) into the antisolvent suppresses defect formation while forming an in situ protective layer

effectively reducing surface traps and preserving PQD structural integrity. The treated PQD films exhibit a twofold reduction in trap density and a tenfold increase in conductivity

ensuring balanced carrier injection and efficient radiative recombination. As a result

the fabricated NIR LEDs achieve a record EQE of 24.8%

maintaining ~20% EQE at a radiance of 10 W sr

—representing the lowest efficiency roll-off for PQD-based NIR LEDs reported to date. Furthermore

large-area devices (900 mm

) reach EQEs of up to 20% and demonstrate practical applications in biomedical imaging and information encryption

underscoring the broad potential of this strategy for high-performance NIR optoelectronics.

关键词

Keywords

references

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