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Tuning mechanoluminescent long-afterglow composites toward mechanical energy lighting

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Abstract

Mechanoluminescence (ML) and long-afterglow (LAG) luminescence are usually studied independently and applied in different fields. SrAl2O4:Eu(II)/Dy(III) (SAOED) is a well-known long-afterglow and elastico-mechanoluminescent material that emits bright green visible light through absorption of photon energy, followed by naturally thermal release or excitation by force. The ML intensity is directly proportional to the magnitude of the applied dynamic force in the elastic range, making it uniquely applicable in a wide field of active visualization of stress/strain sensing. As a LAG material, SAOED is also a commercial photoluminescence (PL) phosphor owing to its high initial brightness and ultralong luminescence duration. Considering the ML and LAG properties and making better applications, the influence of dopants on both characteristics should be studied. In this study, we investigated the concentration effect of Eu (II) and Dy (III) co-doping on the PL, ML, and LAG properties of SAO. A maximum twofold ML brightness enhancement was achieved, and a suitable stress-induced afterglow and stress-free afterglow features were observed through Eu(II) and Dy(III) co-doping. Taking advantage of these properties, we demonstrate the application of Dy- and Eu-co-doped strontium aluminate in environmental–mechanical energy conversion. Owing to its mechanically excited luminescence properties, it can reduce electricity consumption and can also serve as an environmental motion warning in traffic signing, sports scene, and other related fields. The results enriched the application scenarios of SAOED composites as a multiluminescent smart material.

Graphical Abstract

We conduct a systematic analysis to investigate and confirm that the appropriate co-doping strategies to simultaneously obtain good mechanoluminescence and long-afterglow performance of strontium aluminate phosphors and their composites, demonstrate their applications in the environmental auxiliary lighting and sport-force indicator, which results can enrich the application scenarios of mechanoluminescent long-afterglow composites as a smart and energy-saving material.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61875136, 11972235, and 52002246), the Guangdong Provincial Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (2022B1515020054), Fundamental Research Project of Guangdong Province (2020A1515011315), Guangdong Province Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project (GD20XTY11), Shenzhen Fundamental Research Project (JCYJ20190808170601664), Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shenzhen Excellent Talents (RCBS20200714114919006), and Scientific Research Foundation as Phase II construction of high-level University for the Youth Scholars of Shenzhen University 2019 (000002110223).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Zefeng Huang, Bing Chen, Yuantian Zheng, Xu Li, Mingju Zhu, Jiangcheng Luo, Chunfeng Wang, Keyin Wen, Qian Zhang, Yu Fu & Dengfeng Peng

  2. College of Physical Education, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Sicen Qu, Dong Wang & Zhanbing Ren

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  1. Zefeng Huang
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  2. Bing Chen
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  3. Sicen Qu
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Correspondence to Yu Fu or Dengfeng Peng.

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Huang, Z., Chen, B., Qu, S. et al. Tuning mechanoluminescent long-afterglow composites toward mechanical energy lighting. J Mater Sci 57, 21378–21391 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-07965-4

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