A Quantum Dot by Any Other Name...

摘要

According to a recent report from authors at Germany's Oko Institute for Applied Ecology, cadmium-based quantum dots should retain a "short-term" exemption from European environmental regulations for TV applications, but not for lighting. EU environmental regulations generally ban cadmium, but there are exceptions; for example, the cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar panels made by First Solar, cadmium-doped optical filters, and the cadmium-selenide (CdSe) QDs used in TVs and other displays. The authors conclude that CdSe-based QDs provide wider color gamut and lower energy consumption in displays compared with alternative QDs, although that finding has already been disputed by cadmium-free QD-developer Nanoco Group (see main article]. Regulations are paticularly difficult to establish, note the reports's authors, because the pace of commercial product introduction outstrips that of the related investigation and testing.