Dynamic manipulation of multimodal emission in Er <sup>3+</sup> ‐activated non‐core–shell structure for optical thermometry and information security
Xuan Liu, Zixia Lin, Yin-Biao Shi, Xiaoyan Wang, Mingye Ding, Xiaofei Yang
Abstract
Abstract Regulating luminescent dynamics of lanthanide‐based luminescent materials via external stimuli is of great significance in the fields of optical thermometry and high‐level anti‐counterfeiting. However, it is still a huge challenge to realize multimodal emissions with tunable color outputs from a single activator in simple structures via smart dynamic control of photon transition processes. Herein, we present a mechanistic strategy to achieve multimodal luminescence of Er 3+ activators with color‐switchable outputs in a non‐core–shell host. Under the control of excitation dynamics ( λ ex = 980, 808, 1532, 377 nm), the population among the intermediate energy levels of Er 3+ and the interaction between Er 3+ and Yb 3+ could be precisely modulated through energy transfer and migration processes, leading to the generation of color‐tunable multimodal luminescence upon diverse excitation modes (non‐steady‐state, single‐/dual‐wavelength steady, thermal activation). Inspired by its special luminescent performance, the as‐obtained material exhibits great potential in noncontact thermometry, multimodal anti‐counterfeiting, and high‐capacity information encryption by performing a series of proof‐of‐concept experiments. Our findings might provide a conceptual model to modulate the luminescent dynamics in a simple‐structured system for the generation of color‐adjustable multimodal emissions, which is convenient for the development of advanced luminescent materials toward versatile cutting‐edge applications.