# Highly radiative emission of room temperature–localized excitons enabled by charge-neutralized 0D quantum wells in 2D semiconductors

**Authors:** Taeyoung Moon, Hyeongwoo Lee, Jihae Lee, Dong Kyo Oh, Soo Ho Choi, Yeonjeong Koo, Christopher E. Stevens, Hyunje Cho, Deep Jariwala, Je-Hyung Kim, Moon-Ho Jo, Joshua R. Hendrickson, Ki Kang Kim, Junsuk Rho, Yung Doug Suh, Kyoung-Duck Park

PMC · DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady2186 · 2026-03-13

## TL;DR

Researchers developed a method to enable efficient light emission from localized excitons at room temperature using charge-neutralized quantum wells in 2D semiconductors.

## Contribution

The novel approach involves using a charge-neutralized 0D quantum well to achieve high quantum yield in room-temperature exciton emission.

## Key findings

- A drift-diffusion model confirmed ~98% exciton confinement efficiency.
- Tip-induced pressure controls exciton dynamics and quantum yield reversibly.
- Nanohole funneling enables bright localized exciton emission at the nanoscale.

## Abstract

Nondiffusing localized excitons (XL) in two-dimensional semiconductors present a robust platform for mediating light-matter interactions, with potential applications in both photovoltaics and light-emitting devices. However, at room temperature, high thermal energy hinders XL formation, while excess charges diminish the quantum yield (QY) through nonradiative decay. Here, we present high-QY XL emission in ambient conditions by removing excess charges and inducing efficient exciton funneling into a Au nanohole. Specifically, by evaporating an H2O barrier between the n-type MoS2 and the Au substrate, we induce a grounding effect on electrons. Dominantly populating excitons are then funneled and bound to the nanohole through the strain-induced zero-dimensional quantum well effect. We confirm the exciton confinement efficiency of ~98% using a drift-diffusion model, enabling bright XL emission at the nanoscale. Using tip-induced gigapascal-scale pressure, we control XL dynamics and QY in a reversible manner. Our approach provides an innovative strategy for XL-based nanophotonic devices.

Charge-neutralized quantum wells enable highly efficient light emission from localized excitons at room temperature.

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** XL (MESH:D000080345)
- **Chemicals:** Mo (MESH:D008982), PL (-), sodium molybdate (MESH:C024687), mercury (MESH:D008628), PDMS (MESH:C013830), Ne (MESH:D009356), Au (MESH:D006046), He (MESH:D006371), Si (MESH:D012825), quartz (MESH:D011791), S (MESH:D013455), MoS2 (MESH:C082964), SiO2 (MESH:D012822), H2O (MESH:D014867), Ar (MESH:D001128)
- **Cell lines:** S2 — Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly), Spontaneously immortalized cell line (CVCL_Z232), MoS2 — Aedes aegypti (Yellowfever mosquito), Spontaneously immortalized cell line (CVCL_Z354)

## Figures

4 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12985671/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12985671