Near-Infrared Emission Material with Superlong Afterglow Performance and Its Multifunctional Applications

A new near-infrared (NIR) emission material, BaSi1.5Ge2.5O9:Cr3+, with outstanding long afterglow properties is designed and synthesized successfully. Its structure, photoluminescence, and long afterglow emission features are studied in detail. Cr3+ occupies six-coordinated Ba2+ and Ge4+ sites in this system, which can emit characteristic broadband NIR light in the range of 700–1200 nm, and it has a long afterglow emission of more than 10 h. We calculated the band gap of the host at about 4.1 eV, the energy level distribution after Cr3+ doping, and the distribution of oxygen vacancies through density functional theory simulation, which theoretically proved the characteristic transition of Cr3+ and that the oxygen vacancies are crucial to form the defect energy levels. This is corroborated with the reflectance spectra, three-dimensional thermoluminescence spectra, and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra. The oxygen-deficient environment favors the formation of oxygen vacancy defects and prevents the oxidation of Cr3+ to Cr6+, which are the key points for the luminescence and afterglow properties. A mechanistic model of defect formation and electron trapping and transport processes is successfully established. Finally, its multifunctional applications in information anticounterfeiting encryption, biological tissue penetration, and internal nondestructive testing and imaging are demonstrated.