Efficient Near-Infrared Phosphors Discovered By Parametrizing the Eu(II) 5d-to-4f Energy Gap

Sunday, 9 October 2022: 15:00
Room 308 (The Hilton Atlanta)
S. Li (Xiamen University), M. Amachraa, Z. Wang, S. P. Ong (University of California San Diego), and R. J. Xie (Xiamen University)
Inorganic materials with rare-earth activators (e.g., Ce, Eu) exhibit a broad 5d-to-4f emission spectra characterized by a strong host material dependency. Despite extensive research, the development of an efficient and near-infrared (NIR) 5d-to-4f emission remains elusive. Herein, we introduce key descriptors of the Eu(II)-host interactions and predict the in-crystal 5d-to-4f energy gap with a root-mean-square error of ca. 0.03 eV (7.0 nm). By incorporating this luminescence predictor into a high-throughput screening of 223 nitride materials in the inorganic crystal structure database, we identify and experimentally validate (Sr,Ba)3Li4Si2N6:Eu(II) with NIR emissions of λem = 800 ~ 830 nm and high quantum efficiencies (QEs) of 30 ~ 40%, leading to a NIR light power ~3× superior to prevailing NIR emitters. The ultralong λem and high QE stem from a coordinated energy transfer and an optimized electronic delocalization around Eu(II). This work provides a cost-efficient computational approach for discovering phosphors with desired emissions.