Environmentally friendly and long PL lifespan Mn-doped CuInZnS (Mn:CIZS) and CuInZnS/ZnS (Mn:CIZS/ZnS) QDs, with respective red and yellow emissions, were synthesized using nontoxic precursors via a facile dual-step process based on the one-pot method. The resulting Mn:CIZS and Mn:CIZS/ZnS
QDs exhibited confirmed strong red and yellow photoluminescence emissions at approximately 654 nm and 580 nm, respectively. The measured PL decay lifespan for the Mn: CIZS QDs is 2.52 μs due to well-organized surface passivation through the ZnS shell; the average PL lifespan for
the Mn:CIZS/ZnS QDs is extended to 6.28 μs. Moreover, the WLEDs were composed of the Mn:CIZS/ZnS QDs. The resulting WLEDs offered admirable optical attributes, such as an excellent Ra of 89, a low Tc of 5075 K and radiant white light emanation at 60 mA functional current. Therefore,
the outputs highlight the Mn:CIZS/ZnS QDs as hopeful cadmium-free resources for the interest of optoelectronics exploration.