Trap-controlled mechanoluminescent materials

By Jun-Cheng Zhang, Xusheng Wang, G. Marriott, Chao‐Nan Xu. Progress in Materials Science, 2019

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Abstract Mechanoluminescence (ML) is generated during exposures of certain materials to mechanical stimuli. Many solid materials produce ML during their fracturing, however, the irreversibility of fracto-induced ML limits the practical applications of these materials. In 1999, Chao-Nan Xu discovered an intense and reproducible ML from trap-controlled materials, including ZnS:Mn2+ and SrAl2O4:Eu2+, and introduced the principles and applications of hybrid inorganic/organic mechanoluminescent (ML) composites, and related sensors to visualize stress/strain in target structures. This discovery has triggered intense research interest in trap-controlled ML materials and composites over the past 2 decades. Notable achievements of this research include the development of trap-controlled materials that exhibit bright ML emission from the ultraviolet to the near infra-red, and multiscale mechano-optical sensitivities. This research has also increased our understanding of the mechanisms of ML phenomena, enabling the rational design of trap-controlled ML materials. Practical applications of ML are also being driven by the discovery that ML composites can serve as “mechano-optical sensitive skin” for structural health diagnosis, stress sensors for biomechanics, and mechanically-activated light sources. This review focuses on the design, synthesis, characterization, optimization and application of trap-controlled ML materials, and concludes with discussions on future directions of ML research and specific challenges to improve ML materials for real-world applications.

Subfields: Materials Chemistry, Organic Chemistry

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f8dbca531fa2296c8e8a9559786e0156876a5e9a