Ratiometric Temperature Sensing through Alternating Current Electroluminescence

Thermoresponsive luminescent materials have been developed over the past decades for temperature monitoring in diverse scenarios. However, traditional luminescence thermometers typically require excitation by light sources such as lasers and light-emitting diodes, which may suffer from errors caused by uneven distribution of the excitation light and environmental interference. In this report, ZnS doped with Cu + and Cl − is investigated for electroluminescence thermometry driven by alternating current. The ZnS:Cu/Cl generates blue-green dual emissions, which exhibit dissimilar responses to temperature changes, giving rise to the thermometric property. The thermometric performance is further improved by refining the thermal response of the green emission through Co 2+ tri-doping, registering a relative sensitivity of 1.19% K −1 at around 50°C. The advances in these alternating-current-driven thermoresponsive optical materials offer exciting opportunities for quantitative temperature detection and visualized surface temperature mapping.