A Spanish research team has developed a new light emitting material which generates light source that is similar to the sun and reduces the harmfulness of blue light. The result was published in Materials Horizons in September 2018.

The new material, silica nanoparticles, which is similar to sand and emits high-quality light, was developed by researchers Rubén Costa, from the IMDEA Materials, Jesús Berenguer, from the University of La Rioja, and Javier García, from the University of Alicante. With the sand-like materials, the research team can produce a new generation of hybrid LEDs that eliminates blue light.

(Image: University of Alicante)

The high content of blue light presented by current LEDs can be harmful to the human retina, especially for children, and has a negative impact on brain chemistry. Through the development of the light emitting silica nanoparticles and its further applications, researchers have overcome one of the biggest challenges in the progress towards newer and healthier artificial lighting sources.

The development was achieved through the collaboration between the researchers who leverage their expertise. The team from the universities of La Rioja and Alicante used a coordination chemistry called sol-gel, which enables the preparation of metal oxides with new properties. Rubén Costa, who specializes in the design of LED and the development of photovoltaic energy, investigated the properties of these oxides together with his team at IMDEA Materials.

The team has worked together to produce white light with a grain of sand which stands out for its stability and sun-like light source that does not damage the eye. Moreover, LEDs prepared with this new material present a new stability record well above those previously developed in other colors. The practical interest of this white light emitting sand is that it could replace the current color filters based on rare soils such as yttrium, whose extraction and exploitation cause crucial negative effects on the environment.

Reference:
Cintia Ezquerro, Elisa Fresta, Elena Serrano, Elena Lalinde, Javier García-Martínez, Jesús R. Berenguer and Rubén D. Costa. White-emitting organometallo-silica nanoparticles for sun-like light-emitting diodes. Materials Horizons 2018.