Enhancing afterglow of Eu2 + -doped magnesium aluminosilicate glass by a high Mg/Si ratio and its mechanism

Persistent phosphors show great promise for applications in emergency signage, data storage, anti-counterfeiting, and sensing. A novel long afterglow luminescent material, Eu2+-doped magnesium aluminosilicate glass, was designed and prepared by the glass melting process. Interestingly, an over-twofold increase in afterglow duration, from 27 to 60 min, was achieved in the persistent luminescent glass by tuning the Mg/Si mass ratio from 0.17 to 0.51. The role of the Mg/Si mass ratio in modulating the luminescent properties, defect evolution, and persistent luminescence was systematically investigated. Under high Mg/Si mass ratio conditions, a defect theory was proposed to explain this interesting phenomenon. This work presented the fabrication of an Eu2+-doped magnesium aluminosilicate glass with excellent persistent luminescence, offering a new approach to designing high-efficiency afterglow materials.