Fluorescent Enhancement of [AgS4] Microplates by Mechanical Force Induced Crystallinity Breaking

Abstract

Mechanofluorochromic materials are a type of “smart” material because of their adjustable fluorescent properties under external mechanical force, making them significant members of the materials family. However, as the fluorescent characteristics of these materials highly depend on their microstructures, the still insufficiently in-depth research linking molecular structures to light emission motivates researchers to explore the fluorescent properties of these materials under external stimuli. In this work, based on synthetic [AgS₄] microplates, we explore a fascinating mechanical-induced photoluminescent enhancement phenomenon. By applying mechanical force to solid-state [AgS₄] to damage the surface morphology, a significant enhancement in photoluminescence is observed. Moreover, the emitted intensity increases with the extent of damage, which can be attributed to alterations in crystallinity. This work provides valuable insights into the relationship among photoluminescence, crystallinity, and mechanical force, offering new strategies for designing luminescent devices.