Revitalizing Science and Engineering: HBU Team Publishes New Research in Nature Communications Again

Recently, the Luminescence and Display Research Team from the College of Physics Science and Technology at Hebei University has achieved another significant breakthrough in the field of solar-blind mechanoluminescence. Their research findings, titled “Multi-stimulated far-UVC luminescence for solar-blind imaging,” have been published in Nature Communications. The first author of the paper is Cai Chongyang, a doctoral student enrolled in 2023. Professor Yang Yanmin and Associate Professor Li Leipeng from the College of Physics Science and Technology at Hebei University, Researcher Peng Dengfeng from Shenzhen University, and Professor Wang Feng from City University of Hong Kong are the corresponding authors.

Lanthanide-doped mechanoluminescent materials have attracted considerable attention due to their unique force-to-light conversion properties. Existing systems primarily exhibit mechanoluminescence within the 380–1540 nm wavelength range, with only slight extension into the ultraviolet region, limiting their applications in solar-blind imaging, background-free tracking, covert communication, emergency indication, and rescue operations. To address this challenge, the research team leveraged years of exploration and accumulation in ultraviolet, particularly deep-ultraviolet, technologies. By analyzing the complex energy level structure of Pr³⁺ influenced by the matrix, they established a universal design criterion for far-UVC mechanoluminescence. Based on this, the team developed a series of Pr³⁺-doped SrF₂ samples. Utilizing the 5d→4f transition of Pr³⁺, they achieved far-UVC mechanoluminescence centered at approximately 222 nm. Additionally, the SrF₂ matrix demonstrated compatibility with various lanthanide ion luminescent centers (Ce³⁺, Nd³⁺, Sm³⁺, Eu²⁺/³⁺, Gd³⁺, Tb³⁺, Dy³⁺, Ho³⁺, Er³⁺, Tm³⁺, and Yb³⁺), all of which exhibited mechanoluminescence effects covering the full spectral range of 200–1700 nm. Given that the UVC component of sunlight is entirely absorbed by the ozone layer, the research team demonstrated the potential applications of the designed far-UVC mechanoluminescence system in background-free labeling and structural health monitoring.

The above work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the “Hong Kong Scholar Program,” the Hebei Provincial Department of Education Project, the Hebei University Interdisciplinary Research Project in Natural Sciences, the Hebei University High-Level Talent Introduction Project, and the Public Testing Center of the College of Physics Science and Technology at Hebei University.

Article link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61522-6