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In response to the demands for energy and the concerns of global warming and climate change, energy efficient and environmentally friendly solid state lighting, such as white light emitting diodes (WLEDs), is considered to be the most promising and suitable light source. Because of their small size, high efficiency, and long lifetime, WLEDs based on colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (or quantum dots) are emerging as a completely new technology platform for the development of flat-panel displays and solid state lighting, exhibiting the potential to replace the conventionally used incandescent and fluorescent lamps. This replacement could cut the ever-increasing energy consumption, solve the problem of rapidly depleting fossil fuel reserves, and improve the quality of the global environment. In this review, we highlight the recent progress in semiconductor nanocrystals-based WLEDs, compare different approaches for generating white light, and discuss the benefits and challenges of the solid state lighting technology.
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