In recent years, the development of an environmentally friendly quantum dots (QDs) embedded luminous solid by a simple method has attracted considerable attention. In this study, semiconductor ZnS QDs were successfully prepared in an inorganic matrix of amorphous glass, which yielded beneficial broad-band emission in the long-wavelength region of the visible range. The strong red emission belonged to the defect state energy level of the ZnS QDs, which could be enhanced by incorporation of nickel ions into the fixed matrix to regulate the defects state. The novel material had a small self-absorption, wide excitation and emission ranges, and thus potential applications in light-conversion devices, luminescent solar concentrators, and solar cell cover glasses.

Developing scintillators with high light yield (LY), superior irradiation stability, and weak afterglow is of significance for the realization of low-dose high-resolution X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) imaging. Lanthanide doped fluoride nanoparticles possess low toxicity, superior environmental stability, facial fabrication process, and tunable emissions, which are appropriate candidates for the next generation nanoscintillators (NSs). However, the low LY and strong positive hysteresis greatly restrict their practical application. Here, we propose an effective strategy that engineers energy gap to significantly enhance the LY. Our results verify that the tetragonal LiLuF₄ host benefits the crystal level splitting of Tb³⁺ ions, which greatly promotes the electrons population on the Tb³⁺:⁵D₄ level followed by the enhanced LY. The LY of LiLuF₄:Tb@LiLuF₄ NSs is calculated to be ~ 31,169 photons/MeV, which is much higher than the lead halide perovskite colloidal CsPbBr₃ (~ 21,000 photons/MeV) and LuAG:Ce (~ 22,000 photons/MeV) scintillators. Moreover, the positive hysteresis is remarkably restricted after coating a thin shell. The X-ray detection limit and spatial resolution are measured to be ~ 21.27 nGy/s and ~ 7.2 lp/mm, respectively. We further verify that this core/shell NS can be employed as scintillating screen to realize XEOL imaging under the low dose rate of 13.86 μGy/s. Our results provide an effective route to develop high performance NSs, which will promote great opportunities for the development of low-dose high-resolution XEOL imaging devices.

Remote controlled soft actuators have attracted ever-increasing interest in industrial, medical, robotics, and engineering fields. Soft actuators are charming than normal tools in executing dedicate tasks due to small volume and flexible body they have. However, it remains a challenge to design soft actuator that can adapt to multi-environments under remote stimuli with promising nano materials. Herein, we have developed a kind of near-infrared laser driven soft actuators with multi locomotive modes based on WSe₂ and graphene nanosheets heterojunction. Different locomotion modes are driven by photothermal effect induced deformation to adapt to different working conditions. Moreover, the specially designed gripper driven by pulsed laser can lift a heavy load which is four times of its weight. This work broadens the choice of advanced nanomaterials for photothermal conversion of soft actuators. It is promising to realize applications including photothermal therapy and complex environment detection through the combination of the intelligent robot design and optical fiber system.

Natural sunlight activated persistent luminescence (PeL) is ideal candidate for optical information display in outdoors without the requirement of electric supply. Except the brightness and duration, the stability especially water resistance of the PeL materials is of significant importance for practical application, which remains a great obstacle up to date. Herein, we report a new sunlight activated PeL glass ceramic containing hexagonal Sr₁₃Al₂₂Si₁₀O₆₆:Eu²⁺ crystals, which exhibits strong blue PeL and can last more than 200 h. The PeL can be charged by the full wavelengths located in AM 1.5G due to the broad distribution of traps in the crystal structure. The PeL is clearly observed by the naked eye even after 24 h upon sunlight irradiation irrespective of the weather, and the photoluminescence intensity only decreased ~3.3% after storing in water for 365 d. We demonstrate its potential application for thermal and stress responsive display as well as long-term continuous security indication upon sunlight irradiation, which not only save vast energy and reduce environment pollution, but also are appropriate for outdoor usage.