Simultaneous modification of emission spectrum and trap distribution for achieving self-trapped excitons-based white afterglow

The incommensurable differences between the feeding and actual doping ratios of luminescent dopants and excessive reliance on rare-earth ions become two key problems in halide perovskite-based afterglow materials, restricting the production cost and further application. Here, we prepare a series of novel lead- and rare-earth-free halide afterglow phosphors Cs2(Na0.9Ag0.1In)1-xZrxCl6 under an ambient condition, in which the Zr dopants modify the lattice thus tailoring the emission spectrum and trap distribution, simultaneously. The focused Cs2(Na0.9Ag0.1In)0.6Zr0.4Cl6 with mainly size distribution of ∼ 0.6–1.8 μm exhibits ∼ 350–850 nm ultrabroad white luminescence under ultra-violet excitation, and the introduced traps endow the white emission with a long-persistence of over 5 h after pre-irradiation. The absorption bands of self-trapped excitons (STEs) are observed in the steady-state absorption spectra during the afterglow process, suggesting the general accepted picosecond-scaled lifetimes of STEs have been successfully prolonged to hour-scale, which provide a potential opportunity for investigating the specific behavior of STEs.