Unleashing the Potential of Defect Engineered Persistent Pr³⁺-Activated Phosphors for Multi-Dimensional...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid State Chemistry
• Luminescence

Background:

• Persistent luminescence (PersL) in inorganic phosphors is crucial for anti-counterfeiting and optical storage.
• Optimization of PersL properties, multicolor tuning, and defect engineering are key research areas.
• Ca3Ga2Ge3O12:Pr3+ (CGGO:Pr) phosphors show promise but require further development for specific applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel Ca3Ga2Ge3O12:Pr3+ (CGGO:Pr) phosphor with enhanced persistent luminescence and multicolor emission properties.
• To engineer trap depths for optimized PersL performance using aliovalent codoping.
• To evaluate the potential of the developed phosphor for anti-counterfeiting and X-ray imaging applications.

Main Methods:

• Aliovalent codoping of CGGO:Pr with Er3+ and Yb3+ ions.
• Tuning trap depths through the creation of shallow electron traps.
• Characterization using hybrid density functional calculations, thermoluminescence, and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy.
• Fabrication of composite PMMA-CGGO:Pr phosphor films for X-ray imaging.

Main Results:

• A novel Pr3+/Er3+/Yb3+:CGGO phosphor exhibiting long-lasting PersL and multicolor emissions was synthesized.
• Codoping optimized trap depths to approximately 0.73 eV by introducing new shallow electron traps.
• The phosphor demonstrated efficient visible emissions and upconversion luminescence.
• Composite films achieved a high X-ray imaging resolution of 4 lp/mm, surpassing commercial screens.

Conclusions:

• The developed Pr3+/Er3+/Yb3+:CGGO phosphor offers a single system for multicolor luminescence with enhanced PersL and controlled trap depths.
• This material is suitable for robust and multimodal anti-counterfeiting applications.
• The phosphor's high resolution in X-ray imaging demonstrates its potential for advanced imaging technologies.