Gas-initiated chemical alterations in ZnMgO electron transport layer: Key gas instability drivers in quantum-dot light-emitting diodes

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The open-air fabrication of quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) shows great potential for scalable manufacturing. However, the processing stability of QLED devices remains a fundamental barrier to their industrialization. This study investigates the gas-related stability of QLEDs based on the ZnMgO electron transport layer (ETL). By analyzing the current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of QLEDs and the corresponding sub-devices of functional layers in different gas environments, we demonstrate that the ZnMgO ETL plays a critical role in determining the gas-related stability of QLEDs. Further characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that gas-induced surface reactions – particularly modifications to surface states and the formation of stable ZnMgO/OH – are the primary causes of performance degradation of QLEDs.