A research team led by Prof. LIU Zhongmin and Prof. YE Mao from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and their collaborators proposed a theoretical model describing the migration-aggregation behavior of confined metal clusters within individual zeolite.

Optimizing the charge transfer pathway of dopant ions through heterojunction design is a powerful strategy for enhancing semiconductor luminescence. In this context, Dengfeng Peng's group at Shenzhen University developed a high-performance CaF₂/CaZnOS heterojunction mechanoluminescent (ML) material. By precisely controlling the CaF₂-to-CaZnOS ratio, they constructed an efficient heterojunction structure that significantly boosted ML performance. By doping these heterojunctions with lanthanide ions such as Tb³⁺, Pr³⁺, and Yb³⁺, the team has demonstrated highly efficient down-conversion, transforming single energy photons into multiple low-energy photons. This innovation takes advantage of the unique interfacial properties of heterojunction to produce strong luminescence under mechanical stress, offering a promising path toward passive, energy-saving light sources. Moreover, the system achieves quantum cutting, a process that converts one high-energy photon into several lower-energy photons, greatly enhancing luminous efficiency. These advanced heterojunction materials, with their down-conversion-enhanced ML, open new possibilities for a wide range of luminescence-based applications.