Carbon dots (CDs) derived from natural products have attracted considerable interest as eco-friendly materials with a wide range of applications, such as bioimaging, sensors, catalysis, and solar energy harvesting. Among these applications, electroluminescence (EL) is particularly desirable for light-emitting devices in display and lighting technologies. Typically, EL devices incorporating CDs feature a layered structure, where CDs function as the central emissive layer, flanked by charge transport layers and electrodes. Under an applied external bias, electrons and holes are introduced into the active CD layer, resulting in EL through radiative recombination. However, achieving EL with natural product-derived CDs has remained elusive due to challenges such as production difficulties and quenching in the solid state. In this study, we present, for the first time, the successful realization of EL from natural product-derived CDs, synthesized using Victorian lignite through a straightforward single-step pyrolysis method. The CDs demonstrated excellent dispersibility in solvents, allowing them to serve as an emissive layer in light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This was achieved by spin-coating a concentrated CD solution between the organic hole and electron transport layers on a glass substrate coated with indium tin oxide. Remarkably, the CDs retained their dispersibility and emissive efficiency both in solution (toluene) and after film formation. Moreover, the resulting LED demonstrated blue EL, characterized by a peak emission at 460 nm and a maximum luminance of 100.4 cd/m2. This luminance is comparable to that achieved with CDs synthesized from conventional chemical carbon sources. These results highlight the promise of natural product-derived CDs as sustainable and eco-friendly materials for use in LED applications.
© 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.