J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 8114–8115 (2008)

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit white light could offer low-energy indoor lighting. But they are hard to make. Today's examples rely on red–green–blue mixtures or complex blends of materials, which are cumbersome and costly.

Wooseok Ki and Jing Li of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, have discovered a new type of semiconducting material that emits white light when illuminated by a blue LED. It consists of stacked sheets of cadmium sulphide that have amine molecules attached to their top and bottom surfaces.

The brightness is improved by adding a little manganese. Next the researchers will need to see if the white emission can be driven purely by electricity.