A super-long near-infrared persistent luminescent material BaMgAl6Ga4O17:Cr3+

Near-infrared persistent luminescent (NIR-PersL) materials exhibit potential applications in dark field tracing, non-invasive bio-imaging, etc. Herein, we report a series of BaMgAl 10- x Ga x O 17 :Cr 3+ (BA 10- x G x M:Cr) NIR-PersL materials with tunable PersL properties. The substitution of Al 3+ by Ga 3+ shifts thermoluminescence peaks (from 490 K to 360 K) and modulates trap distributions to optimize trap depth for PersL emission. The optimal BA 6 G 4 M:Cr sample achieves a threefold improvement in PersL intensity relative to the Ga-free pristine material, with detectable PersL duration for 72 h. Dark-field tracing and biological tissue penetration tests were performed using BA 6 G 4 M:Cr, and clear 5 m long-distance dark-field tracing and 6 mm deep penetration in pork tissue were realized.