With the development of miniaturization and integration of electronic devices, single-function materials can no longer meet the trend of miniaturization and integration of electronic devices. The new solid solution materials show great potential for multi-functionalities of materials due to their unique structural properties. Ca-Ln-Nb-M-O (Ln is a lanthanide, M = Mo or W) based materials can be designed as single-phase solid solutions depending on the composition, and their structure has high structural tolerance and excellent high-temperature stability. However, the current research on Ca-Ln-Nb-M-O-based materials only focuses on a single electrical or luminous property, which hinders its application in the field of multi-function devices.

To solve this problem, the research group of XTIPC obtained a multifunctional coupling ceramic that combines photoluminescence and thermistor properties by structure modulation. The modulation of the Ca-Eu-Nb-Mo-O solid solution composition ratio can change the crystal structure of scheelite-based solid solutions, thereby causing changes in electrical transport properties and photoluminescence. The results show that structure modulation induced by the ratio of solid solution components can not only effectively reduce the resistivity to regulate the electrical properties and broaden the application temperature range, but also introduce luminescence properties due to the introduction of Eu³⁺, and all ceramics exhibit intense red photoluminescence. The photoluminescence and semiconductor properties exhibited by this ceramic material provide new design ideas for photo-electric multifunctional coupling ceramics, which are expected to be applied in the field of near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes and high-temperature thermistors.

The research results were published in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society.  Postgraduate Student Sun Hao is the first author, Prof. Zhang Bo from Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry and Prof. Zhang Su from Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry are the corresponding authors. The research work is supported by the project of the West Light Foundation of CAS and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS.

Article Link: https://ceramics.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jace.18909

Figure. Photoluminescence and electrical properties of Ca-Eu-Nb-Mo-O solid solution ceramics