7 - Applications

Abstract

Persistent phosphors (PPs) have become a major class of multifunctional materials and have found a wide range of applications in many fields. Persistent phosphors have been used in diverse display fields, such as safety indicator, road traffic signs, luminous decoration, luminous fibers, luminous watches, and alternating current light-emitting diode (AC-LED). Moreover, by leveraging the thermoluminescence of the persistent phosphors, they are considered to be used as scintillation detector. Besides, persistent phosphors can be used to store radiation energy from visible light, ultraviolet, and x-ray by immobilizing the generated charge carriers in traps and then liberate the stored energy upon thermal, optical, or mechanical stimulation. Since the influence of excitation light on the temperature of the test sample can be eliminated, the temperature-dependent persistent phosphorescence of persistent phosphors can be exploited for optical temperature measurement. In addition, persistent phosphors have also found biomedical applications as luminescent marker, in vivo imaging, molecular sensing, contrast agent, lateral flow assay, sterilization, and photodynamic therapy of cancer. With regard to the application in solar energy, persistent phosphors can be typically applied in photoelectronic nanodevices and photovoltaic materials. In photocatalysis, persistent phosphors are used as a light source for the photocatalysis in the dark. This chapter will review these applications of persistent phosphors.