Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 1162-1176.doi: 10.1007/s40242-026-6133-x

• Review Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Recent Advances in Electron-doping of Quantum Dots: Synthesis, Optical Properties, and Optoelectronic Applications

LEI Haixin1, WANG Zhe1, LIN Xing2, PENG Xiaogang1   

  1. 1. Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Excited-State Energy Conversion and Energy Storage, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, P. R. China;
    2. Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Excited-State Energy Conversion and Energy Storage, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, P. R. China
  • Received:2026-06-08 Revised:2026-07-04 Online:2026-08-01 Published:2026-07-28
  • Contact: PENG Xiaogang,E-mail:xpeng@zju.edu.cn E-mail:xpeng@zju.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the Advanced Materials-National Science and Technology Major Project, China (No. 2025ZD0615600) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22132005, 62575262).

Abstract: Stably and controllably doping free carriers, here specifically free electrons, into colloidal quantum dots (QDs) is central to realizing their size-tunable optical and optoelectronic properties. Unlike bulk semiconductors, aliovalent atomic doping in QDs is challenging due to self-purification mechanism. This mini-review focuses on recent advances in one type of unique doping strategies for QDs (i.e., remote electron-doping into their quantum-confined conduction band), including chemical, electrochemical, and photochemical approaches. We discuss optical properties, many-body interactions, and Fermi-level shifts of n-doped QDs. Impacts of n-doping on low-threshold optical gain, infrared intraband emission and detection, and charge-transport layers in devices are discussed.

Key words: Quantum dot, Electron doping, Optoelectronics