A new material that could enable a special kind of mouldable plastic to create solid-state lighting has been developed by PureLux. The spin out company of Wake Forest University was founded in March 2007 to develop and commercialize advanced lighting technologies that offer exceptional brightness and efficiency through the use of nano-materials in thin film devices. The work is based on nano-technology research conducted at the Center for Nanotechnology & Molecular Materials at the University.

The lighting devices which do not generate heat comprise of ultra-thin, flexible layers of electrodes, nano-material dielectrics and optimized phosphors which can be printed and easily manufactured. The number and type of layers can range from less than 10 to well over 25 depending on the needed application performance. The panels using the electroluminescent technology already deliver 1500 cd/m2 (usual El is about 150 cd/m2) – and approx 25 lm/w.

The research and technology at the core of PureLux was developed by Dr. David Carroll, a recognized world leader in the field of nano-technologies, head of the Wake Forest Physics Department, and Director of the Center for Nanotechnology & Molecular Materials.

In August 2010, PureLux closed a Series A round of financing that was led by Houston-based Yellowstone Energy Ventures II, L.P. – a venture fund managed by Yellowstone Capital Partners, LLC. Also participating as Series A investors in the round were Prospect Holdings of Charlotte, North Carolina and Wake Forest University. The original investors included Wake Forest University and Nanoholdings, LLC of Rowayton, Connecticut.