Nearly-Unity Quantum Yield and 12-Hour Afterglow from a Transparent Perovskite of Cs₂ NaScCl₆ :Tb

Unlike afterglow phosphors, transparent crystals free of scattering issues hold great potential in applications such as volumetric displays and three-dimensional encryption. Here, a double-perovskite host of ca. 85 % transparency, a Cs₂ NaScCl₆ single crystal, was grown in aqueous solution. Through heavy doping of Tb ions, the crystal exhibited a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) up to 98.2 %. Both steady-state and transient PL spectroscopic investigation revealed a cross-relaxation efficiency (η_CR ≈99 %) between Tb ions, greatly mitigated the electron saturation on the ₅ D₃ level and encouraged the radiative route against quenching. The doped crystal displayed an intense afterglow of up to 12 h after ceasing the X-ray excitation, allowing it to be used in a radiation-storage battery which has a linear scaling capacity with loading weight. Our work opens possibilities in photo-stimulated volumetric display and three-dimensional information storage.