Near-infrared afterglow enhancement of ZnGa2O4:Cr3+via regulating trap distribution guided by the VRBE diagram.

Lanthanide ions are commonly used as co-dopant ions for trap regulation in afterglow phosphors. However, rationally designing trap distribution to improve the afterglow performance remains challenging. Herein, the vacuum referred binding energy (VRBE) diagram was constructed to aid in the search for effective lanthanide ions to improve the near-infrared afterglow properties of ZnGa2O4:Cr3+. The constructed VRBE diagram indicates that Ln3+ (Ln = Sm, Yb, Tb) ions can create traps in ZnGa2O4, which is confirmed by the luminescence characterization. Results show that doping with Ln3+ (Ln = Sm, Yb, Tb) ions can significantly improve the afterglow intensity and duration of the phosphor due to the increased shallow trap density and trap depth. Among these samples, the Sm3+-doped sample exhibits the best afterglow properties. The afterglow enhancement mechanism by Ln3+ doping is discussed in detail. This work not only presents the lanthanide ions that can be used to regulate the trap distribution of ZnGa2O4:Cr3+ phosphors, but also provides new insights for the design of new afterglow phosphors with practical application value.

Ion Substitution Strategy toward High-Efficiency Near-Infrared Photoluminescence of Cs2KIn1-yAlyF6:Cr3+ Solid Solutions.

The rising demand for portable near-infrared (NIR) light sources has accelerated the exploration of NIR luminescent materials with high efficiency and excellent thermal stability. Inspired by the structural-modulated ion substitution strategy, herein, a high-performance Cs2KIn0.8Al0.1F6:0.1Cr3+ phosphor with a peak at 794 nm and full width at half-maximum (fwhm) of 117 nm was successfully synthesized by introducing Al3+ ions. The high performance is reflected in its high internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of 88.06% and good thermal quenching resistance (I423K = 71.64%). Compared with the initial Cs2KInF6:0.1Cr3+, the IQE and thermal stability are improved by 16.67% and 72.54%, which stem from the enhanced crystallinity and the strengthened structural rigidity. Finally, a phosphor-converted light-emitting diode (pc-LED) with a superior NIR photoelectric efficiency (21.04%@320 mA) was fabricated. Meanwhile, the pupil tracking, anticounterfeiting, intelligent identification, and bioimaging were successfully demonstrated. This work provides new perspectives for synthesizing efficient NIR fluoride phosphors and designing diverse applications.