Defect induced photoluminescence in MoS₂ quantum dots and effect of Eu³⁺/Tb³⁺ co-doping towards efficient white light emission

Intensive research has been carried out on optical properties of MoS₂ quantum dots for versatile applications in photo catalytic, sensing and optoelectronic devices. However, white light generation from MoS₂ quantum dots particularly using doping effect is relatively unexplored. Herein we report successful synthesis of Europium (Eu)/Terbium (Tb) co-doped MoS₂ quantum dots to achieve white light for potential applications in optoelectronic devices. The dopant ions are introduced into the host lattice to retain the emission colors to cover the entire range of visible light of solar spectrum. Perfect white light (CIE = 0.31, 0.33) with high intensity (quantum yield = 28.29%) is achieved in these rare earth elements co-doped quantum dot system. A new peak is observed in the NIR region which is attributed to the defects present in MoS₂ quantum dots. Temperature dependent study has been carried out to understand the origin of this new peak in the NIR region. It is seen that the ‘S’ defects in the QDs cause the appearance of this peak which shows a blue shift at higher temperature.