Quantification of Emission Efficiency in Persistent Luminescent Materials [Dataset]

Accurate quantification of efficiency enables rigorous comparison between different photoluminescent materials, providing an optimization path critical to the development of next-generation light sources. Persistent luminescent materials exhibit delayed and long-lasting luminescence due to the temporary storage of optical energy in engineered structural defects. Although these materials have recently gained attention for their potential in a wide range of applications, from smart lighting to in vivo imaging, standard characterization methods do not provide a universal comparison of phosphor performance, making it difficult to assess the efficiency of the different processes involved in afterglow. In this work we establish a protocol to obtain the emission quantum yield of persistent phosphors. We determine the persistent and total luminescence quantum yields by considering the ratio of photons emitted in the afterglow and during charging to those absorbed. The method is first applied to transparent single crystals of the most common persistent phosphors, such as SrAl2O4:Eu2+,Dy3+ and Y3Al2Ga3O12:Ce3+,Cr3+. The versatility of our methodology is then demonstrated by quantifying the quantum yield of a thin film based on ZnGa2O4:Cr3+ persistent luminescent nanoparticles, which are commonly used for in vivo imaging. We confirm the high efficiency of strontium aluminate and reveal a strong dependence of the obtained values on the illumination conditions, highlighting a trade-off between efficiency and brightness, which opens the door to precise optimization of the charging conditions for each material and application. Our results contribute to the development of standard characterization protocols for the analysis of the mechanisms governing afterglow, as well as the assessment of the overall efficiency of the process. Such achievements enable a rigorous comparison of the performance of different persistent materials, allowing for optimization routes beyond the usual trial-and-error approach.

精准量化效率可实现不同光致发光材料（photoluminescent materials）间的严谨对比，为下一代光源的研发提供至关重要的优化路径。长余辉发光材料（Persistent luminescent materials）会因工程化结构缺陷临时存储光能，从而表现出延迟且持久的发光现象。尽管这类材料近年来凭借其在智能照明到活体成像等诸多领域的应用潜力受到广泛关注，但当前的标准表征方法无法实现荧光粉（phosphor）性能的通用对比，这使得难以评估余辉过程中各环节的效率。本研究建立了一套获取长余辉荧光粉发射量子产率（emission quantum yield）的标准化方案。我们通过计算余辉阶段与激发充电阶段发射光子数与吸收光子数的比值，确定了长余辉总发光量子产率与持久发光量子产率。该方法首先被应用于最具代表性的长余辉荧光粉的透明单晶，例如SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺,Dy³⁺与Y₃Al₂Ga₃O₁₂:Ce³⁺,Cr³⁺。随后，我们通过量化基于ZnGa₂O₄:Cr³⁺长余辉发光纳米颗粒的薄膜的量子产率，验证了该方法的通用性——这类纳米颗粒常被用于活体成像。我们证实了铝酸锶的高效率特性，并揭示了所得量子产率值对激发光照条件的强烈依赖性，点明了效率与亮度间的权衡关系，这为针对不同材料与应用场景精准优化激发充电条件提供了可能。本研究成果可为余辉调控机制分析的标准化表征方案发展提供助力，同时也可用于评估该过程的整体效率。此类进展可实现不同长余辉材料性能的严谨对比，推动优化路径摆脱传统的试错模式。