Abstract

Phosphors emitting visible and near-infrared persistent luminescence have been explored extensively owing to their unusual properties and commercial interest in their applications such as glow-in-the-dark paints, optical information storage, and in vivo bioimaging. However, no persistent phosphor that features emissions in the ultraviolet C range (200–280 nm) has been known to exist so far. Here, we demonstrate a strategy for creating a new generation of persistent phosphor that exhibits strong ultraviolet C emission with an initial power density over 10 milliwatts per square meter and an afterglow of more than 2 h. Experimental characterizations coupled with first-principles calculations have revealed that structural defects associated with oxygen introduction-induced anion vacancies in fluoride elpasolite can function as electron traps, which capture and store a large number of electrons triggered by X-ray irradiation. Notably, we show that the ultraviolet C afterglow intensity of the yielded phosphor is sufficiently strong for sterilization. Our discovery of this ultraviolet C afterglow opens up new avenues for research on persistent phosphors, and it offers new perspectives on their applications in terms of sterilization, disinfection, drug release, cancer treatment, anti-counterfeiting, and beyond.

Details

Title
X-ray-activated long persistent phosphors featuring strong UVC afterglow emissions
Author
Yan-Min, Yang 1 ; Li, Zhi-Yong 2 ; Jun-Ying, Zhang 3 ; Lu, Yue 3 ; Shao-Qiang, Guo 3 ; Zhao, Qing 4 ; Wang, Xin 1 ; Zi-Jun, Yong 2 ; Li, Hong 2 ; Ju-Ping, Ma 2 ; Kuroiwa, Yoshihiro 4 ; Moriyoshi, Chikako 4 ; Li-Li, Hu 5 ; Li-Yan, Zhang 5 ; Li-Rong, Zheng 6 ; Hong-Tao, Sun 2 

 College of Physics Science and Technology, Hebei University, Baoding, China 
 College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Jiangsu, China 
 Department of Physics, Beihang University, Beijing, China 
 Department of Physical Science, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan 
 Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China 
 Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 
Pages
1-11
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Nov 2018
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
e-ISSN
20477538
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2132704624
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.