@article{Li2026, 
author = {Ru-Yan Li and Lu-Lu Zou and Wan-Yang Li and Chen-Kai Wang and Fan Yang and De-Xin Chen and Yuan-Ju Zhang and Zhong-Hong Zhu and Hua-Hong Zou and Hai-Ling Wang},
title = {Regulation of the switch between X-ray scintillators and photo/sonocatalysis generation of reactive oxygen species in lanthanide-titanium clusters via energy transfer pathways},
year = {2026},
journal = {Nano Research},
keywords = {photocatalytic degradation, solvothermal synthesis, reactive oxygen species, lanthanide clusters, X-ray scintillators},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2026.94908961},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2026.94908961},
abstract = {A class of orthogonal multifunctional lanthanide-titanium clusters, Ln4Ti9, was obtained by reacting 4-trifluoromethylbenzoic acid, isopropyl titanate, and Ln(OAc)3·xH2O under solvothermal conditions. These clusters can be used for the purification of colored dye wastewater and for high-performance X-ray scintillators. Specifically, the metal centers in the cluster nucleus of Ln4Ti9 are arranged in a near-planar manner, and the ligands are tightly wrapped around the cluster nucleus, which ensures the stability of the cluster in solution. In-depth exploration of the energy transfer pathways has demonstrated that the Eu4Ti9 structure possesses an efficient antenna effect and optimal energy level matching, exhibiting a bright red luminescence. Furthermore, Eu4Ti9 exhibits excellent X-ray scintillator performance, with a light yield of up to 11,677 photons∙MeV-1 and a detection limit as low as 2.2 μGy∙s-1, which is 2.5 times lower than the clinical standard for medical use (5.5 µGy∙s-1). It also shows excellent radiation stability after 36 radiation cycles and enables low-dose X-ray imaging. Under white light irradiation of 60 mW·cm-2, the rapidly generated ROS storm of Gd4Ti9 almost completely degraded methylene blue (MB), rhodamine B (RhB), and norfloxacin (NFX) in aqueous solution within 50 and 40 min, respectively, with degradation rates as high as 0.0216 min-1, 0.0592 min-1, and 0.0146 min-1, respectively. This work applies a highly stable lanthanide-titanium cluster system in aqueous solution to the field of photocatalytic wastewater purification, specifically targeting colored dyes and antibiotics.}
}