White-light-emitting long-lasting phosphorescence in Dy-doped SrSiO3

We report on a luminescent phenomenon in Dy³⁺-doped SrSiO₃ long-lasting phosphor. After irradiation by a 254-nm UV lamp for 5 min, the Dy³⁺-doped SrSiO₃ phosphor emits white light-emitting long-lasting phosphorescence for more than 1 h even after the irradiation source has been removed. Photoluminescence, long-lasting phosphorescence and thermoluminescence (TL) spectra are used to explain this phenomenon. Photoluminescence spectra reveal that the white light-emitting long-lasting phosphorescence originated from the two mixtures of Dy³⁺ characteristic luminescence, the 480-nm blue emission (⁴F_9/2→⁶H_15/2) and the 572-nm yellow emission (⁴F_9/2→⁶H_13/2). TL spectra shows that the introduction of Dy³⁺ ions into the SrSiO₃ host produces a highly dense trapping level at 377 K (0.59 eV), which is responsible for the long-lasting phosphorescence at room temperature. A possible mechanism of the long-lasting phosphorescence based on the experimental results is proposed. It is considered that the long-lasting phosphorescence is due to persistent energy transfer from the electron traps to the Dy³⁺ ions, which creates the persistent luminescence of Dy³⁺ to produce the white light-emitting long-lasting phosphorescence.     

Fundamentals and applications of ion-ion plasmas

Ion-ion plasmas can form in the late afterglow of pulsed discharges or downstream of continuous wave discharges in electronegative gases. In ion-ion plasmas, negative ions replace electrons as the negative charge carriers. In the absence of electrons, ion-ion plasmas behave quite differently compared to conventional electron-ion plasmas. Application of a radio frequency bias to a substrate immersed in an ion-ion plasma can be used to extract alternately positive and negative ions, thereby minimizing charging on device features during micro-device fabrication. Ion-ion plasmas are also important in negative ion sources, dusty plasmas, and the D-layer of the earth's atmosphere.     

Afterglow phenomenon in Erbium and Titanium codoped GD2O2S phosphors

A series of new long-lasting phosphor Gd₂O₂S:xEr,Ti are prepared by the conventional high-temperature solid-state method and their luminescent properties are systematically investigated in this paper. The characteristic afterglow emission of Er, which is due to the transition of ⁴F_9/2→⁴I_15/2 and ⁴S_3/2→⁴I_15/2, is reported for the first time. XRD, photoluminescence, long-lasting phosphorescence and decay curves are used to characterize the synthesized phosphors. The possible energy transfer mechanism of Gd₂O₂S:xEr,Ti is also investigated.     

Diboraanthracene-Doped Polymer Systems for Colour-Tuneable Room-Temperature Organic Afterglow

Organic ultralong room temperature phosphorescence (RTP), or organic afterglow, is a unique phenomenon, gaining widespread attention due to its far-reaching application potential and fundamental interest. Here, two laterally expanded 9,10-dimesityl-dihydro-9,10-diboraanthracene (DBA) derivatives are demonstrated as excellent afterglow materials for red and blue-green light emission, which is traced back to persistent thermally activated delayed fluorescence and RTP. The lateral substitution of polycyclic DBA scaffold, together with weak transversal electron-donating mesityl groups, ensures the optimal molecular properties for (reverse) intersystem crossing and long-lived triplet states in a rigid poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix. The achieved afterglow emission quantum yields of up to 3 % and 15 %, afterglow lifetimes up to 0.8 s and 3.2 s and afterglow durations up to 5 s and 25 s (for red and blue-green emitters, respectively) are attributed to the properties of single molecules.     

氩等离子体后辉光区对聚四氟乙烯膜表面的优化改性

在理想管式反应器中, 采用Langmuir双电子探针和电子自旋共振(ESR)诊断技术分别定量测定了氩等离子体场中各活性物种的轴向分布, 并利用氩等离子体放电区及后辉光区对聚四氟乙烯(PTFE)进行了表面改性. 通过接触角测量、扫描电子显微镜和X 射线光电子能谱分析比较了改性前后常规及后辉光氩等离子体对PTFE表面结构及性能的影响. 结果表明, 氩等离子体中电子及离子浓度随轴向距离的增大迅速降低, 30 cm后接近于0, 而自由基浓度则降低缓慢, 40 cm处仍为初始浓度的96%. 氩等离子体放电功率、处理时间和气体流量强烈影响着PTFE表面润湿性的改善效果. 后辉光区因抑制电子和离子的刻蚀作用, 强化自由基反应, 使改性效果远优于常规氩等离子体. 经氩等离子体后辉光区短时间(30 s)处理后, PTFE表面化学成分发生了变化, F/C原子比从3.27降至2.30, O/C原子比从0.02增至0.09. 脱氟作用和含氧基团(如CO)的引入是有效改善PTFE表面润湿性的关键因素.     

An Iron Catalytic Probe for Determination of the O-atom Density in an Ar/O2 Afterglow

An iron fiber optics catalytic probe has been constructed and applied for the real-time measuring of the O-atom density in an Ar/O₂ afterglow. The recombination coefficient for the heterogeneous surface recombination of O atoms on the oxidized iron foil was measured at different temperatures between 400 and 950 K. The coefficient was found to be constant in the entire range of experimental conditions and had a value of 0.41 ± 0.12. The iron fiber optics catalytic probe has an advantage over the classical nickel fiber optics catalytic probe: the probe signal is higher for the iron probe due to a higher recombination coefficient thus causing an easier real-time monitoring of the O-atom density. The O-atom density was measured in an afterglow of microwave plasma created at different discharge powers up to 300 W, at a constant Ar flow rate of 1000 sccm/min and at different oxygen flow rates between 50 and 300 sccm/min. The O-atom density was found to be dependent on oxygen flow. At low oxygen flow rates up to 100 sccm/min, a saturation of the O-atom density was obtained at a certain discharge power, while at high oxygen flow rate the O-atom density kept increasing with the increasing power. The results were explained by gas phase and surface phenomena.     

Atom-sensitive textiles as visual indicators for plasma post-discharges

The efficiency of surface treatments by plasma and post-discharge plasma processes is greatly dependent on the density of active species, such as neutral atoms in post-discharges. Therefore, many diagnostics exist to detect the presence and measure the concentrations of these species, but they often require expensive instrumentation and highly qualified personnel. These conditions are not often met when the process is industrially used and it becomes important to imagine simple indicators allowing to validate that the correct operating conditions are reached. In the present paper, we present the first results on the investigation of an inexpensive and easy to use visual indicator able to quantify the atomic species density in nitrogen post-discharge plasma processes. It is based on the differential recombination coefficients of N-atoms on metallic/textile fibres which are intrinsically bonded together in a fabric matrix which serves as support for a thermochromic ink. The specific heating of the metallic fibres by N-atom recombination heats the whole of the fabric, leading to a visible colour change of the thermochromic ink, and therefore, of the indicator. Through modelling, it was possible to estimate that the inclusion of copper fibres to a pure cotton matrix leads to a 60% increase of the global N-atom recombination coefficient of the fabric, sufficient enough to provide a clearly visible colour change.     

Green photoluminescence, but blue afterglow of Tb activated Sr4Al14O25

Tb³⁺ activated Sr₄Al₁₄O₂₅ phosphors were synthesized by the high temperature solid-state reaction. For the sample, the color of the photoluminescence (PL) was green, but that of the afterglow was blue. The spectral results indicated that the photoluminescence was mainly due to the transitions from ⁵D₄ to the ground energy levels of Tb³⁺ and obeyed the cross-relaxation mechanism; however, the afterglow was derived from the transitions from ⁵D₃ and independent with the concentration of Tb³⁺. This difference was attributed to the reason that the energy transfer process of cross-relaxation was halted by the traps during the period of afterglow.     

掺铥硫氧化钇的特殊余辉性质

迄今为止,稀土长余辉磷光体已见文献或专利公开报道的激活离子主要有适于紫外光激发的三价铈离子(Ce³⁺)和三价镨离子(Pr³⁺)、适于可见光激发的铕离子(Eu³⁺和Eu²⁺)及钐离子(Sm³⁺,Sm²⁺),尚未涉及到铥离子Tm³⁺或Tm²⁺.我们在Tm³⁺离子激活的硫氧化钇体系Y₂O₂S:Tm³⁺中发现了长余辉荧光特性.特别是在该磷光体中还发现了一种非常特殊的余辉现象.     

Switchable and Highly Robust Ultralong Room-Temperature Phosphorescence from Polymer-Based Transparent Films with Three-Dimensional Covalent Networks for Erasable Light Printing

In this work, an efficient polymer-based organic afterglow system, which shows reversible photochromism, switchable ultralong organic phosphorescence (UOP), and prominent water and chemical resistance simultaneously, has been developed for the first time. By doping phenoxazine (PXZ) and 10-ethyl-10H-phenoxazine (PXZEt) into epoxy polymers, the resulting PXZ@EP-0.25 % and PXZEt@EP-0.25 % films show unique photoactivated UOP properties, with phosphorescence quantum yields and lifetimes up to 10.8 % and 845 ms, respectively. It is found that the steady-state luminescence and UOP of PXZ@EP-0.25 % are switchable by light irradiation and thermal annealing. Moreover, the doped films can still produce conspicuous UOP after soaking in water, strong acid and base, and organic solvents for more than two weeks, exhibiting outstanding water and chemical resistance. Inspired by these exciting results, the PXZ@EP-0.25 % has been successfully exploited as an erasable transparent film for light printing.