Improved synthetic method for the color-tunable LiYGeO4:Tb3+ persistent phosphor toward information storage

Efficient and stable persistent phosphors play a crucial role in the fields of energy storage, anti-counterfeiting, and biomedical fields. Here, we present an improved synthetic method for preparing a series of color-tunable LiYGeO 4 :Tb 3+ persistent phosphor. The increased Tb 3+ concentration in the improved method enhances the persistent luminescent intensity at 20 s by ∼2.96 times. This enhancement is due to the dual roles of Tb 3+ as both emitters and trap centers within LiYGeO 4 . By simply increasing the doping concentrations, the persistent color can be adjusted from blue to green. LiYGeO 4 :Tb 3+ exhibits no loss of persistent luminescent intensity even after exposure to water at 80 °C for 72 h, surpassing the commercial green persistent phosphor. Furthermore, information storage was successful demonstrated by using LiYGeO 4 :Tb 3+ with various doping concentrations. This study represents a significant advancement in optimizing the properties of persistent luminescent materials, where dopants simultaneously serve as emitters and trap centers.