Past, present and future of indium phosphide quantum dots

Indium phosphide (InP) colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have been drawn significant attention as a potentially less toxic alternative to cadmium-based QDs over the past two decades. The advances in their colloidal synthesis methods have allowed for the synthesis of a wide variety of compositions, heterojunctions, dopants, and ligands that enabled spectral tunability from blue to near-infrared, narrow emission linewidths, and perfect quantum yields approaching unity. Furthermore, it has higher covalency compared to cadmium chalcogenides leading to improved optical stability. The state-of-the-art InP QDs with appealing optical and electronic properties have excelled in many applications such as light-emitting diodes, luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), and solar cells with high potential for commercialization. This review focuses on the history, recent development, and future aspect of synthesis and application of colloidal InP QDs.