Elastic deformation induced near-infrared mechanoluminescence of ZnO co-doped with Li and Nd

The discovery of elastic deformation induced mechanoluminescence (ML) has sparked significant research interest in developing materials capable of emitting both visible and invisible light for sensing and lighting applications across nano- to macro-scale systems. Among these, ML materials with near-infrared luminescence have garnered particular attention for medical and biological applications, as the scattering and absorption of biological tissues were reduced in near-infrared light. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a promising candidate due to its high biocompatibility. Recent density functional theory (DFT) calculations have revealed that co-doping ZnO with Li and Nd leads to crystal softening, suggesting enhanced deformation susceptibility and improved luminescence efficiency. In this study, ZnO co-doped with Li and Nd was successfully synthesized, and near-infrared ML from a ZnO-based host material has been demonstrated for the first time.