Multiresponsive emissions in luminescent ions doped quaternary piezophotonic materials for mechanical-to-optical energy conversion and sensing applications

Abstract

Visualization and noncontact sensing can be achieved based on multimode luminescent materials, which is essential to flexible optoelectronics, information encryption, and infrastructure monitoring. However, the development of optical sensors is primally limited by developing high-performance luminescent functional materials with energy conversion. Here, by codoping transition metal and lanthanide ions into quaternary piezophotonic semiconductors MZnOS (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) microcrystals, the efficient multimode luminescent materials are successfully synthesized. They can simultaneously respond to ultraviolet, near-infrared and stress, and exhibit completely different optical characteristics. Specifically, both composite film and block are prepared by mixing luminescent particles and polymers for mechanical-to-optical energy conversion. The developed composite based on mechanoluminescence can be utilized for visualizing pressure distribution, even E-signature, and anti-counterfeiting systems. In addition, temperature detection is researched based on upconversion emissions. The results suggest that these materials have great potential applications in advanced optical multimode sensors, which is of significance for integrated optoelectronic devices.