Color-tunable persistent luminescence phosphors CdSiO3:RE3+ (RE = Pr, Tb, Eu, Sm, Tm) and application in colorful persistent image

Multicolor emission has long been a critical scientific challenge in the field of persistent luminescence (PersL) materials, with the achievement of multicolor PersL emission within a single host matrix representing a primary research objective. Herein, a new and effective method of using coordination polymers (CPs) as precursors is designed to synthesize multicolored CdSiO 3 :RE 3+ (RE = Pr, Sm, Eu, Tb, Tm) PersL materials. Through variation of rare earth dopants, we successfully achieved color-tunable PersL emission spanning brown, pink, purple, red, green, and blue spectra. The influence of RE 3+ dopants on the crystal structure, morphology and optical properties are studied in detail. Notably, this straightforward synthesis strategy enabled the effective production of nanospherical particles exhibiting regular morphology and uniform size distribution. The electronic band structure of the material was theoretically analyzed using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Combined with thermoluminescence (TL) measurements were performed to elucidate the underlying PersL mechanism. To demonstrate practical applications, we designed a dynamic anti-counterfeiting pattern and evaluated the potential utility of CdSiO 3 :RE 3+ materials. This study not only enhances our fundamental understanding of CdSiO 3 -based PersL materials, but also provides novel insights into morphology and size control strategies that could be extended to other PersL material systems.