Rare‐Earth Coordination Hydrogels Enabling Self‐Powered and Self‐Luminous Closed‐Loop Systems

Rare-earth (RE) fluorescent hydrogels have emerged as promising candidates for sensing, encryption, and flexible display technologies. However, their reliance on external ultraviolet (UV) excitation severely hampers portability and integration into self-sustained electronic systems. Herein, we report a multifunctional Eu/Tb-doped hydrogel that uniquely combines stretchability, ionic conductivity, and tunable fluorescence. The hydrogel is constructed via EDC/NHS-mediated grafting of terpyridine (TPY) onto polyethyleneimine (PEI), followed by freeze-thaw crosslinking. RE ions coordinate with TPY ligands to generate dynamic crosslinking sites, thereby reinforcing mechanical robustness while imparting strong luminescence. A salting-out effect induced by NaCl further densifies polymer chains and enhances ionic conductivity. Encapsulated with VHB elastomer, the hydrogel functions as an electrode in a triboelectric nanogenerator (RE-TENG), achieving a peak power density of 0.22 W m<sup>-2</sup>. By directly coupling RE-doped fluorescent hydrogels with RE-TENGs, we demonstrate, for the first time, a fully self-powered and self-luminous hydrogel platform. The integrated device efficiently charges capacitors and drives UV LEDs to reveal encrypted fluorescent patterns without any external power supply. This work establishes a new paradigm for merging energy harvesting with information display, opening opportunities for next-generation wearable and secure optoelectronics.

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Journal
Small
Published
2026-01-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202513586
Primary Topic
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Rare‐Earth Coordination Hydrogels Enabling Self‐Powered and Self‐Luminous Closed‐Loop Systems

Yue Qing Shen, W. Liu, J. Li, Kunda Yao et al.
Small
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
article

Rare‐Earth Coordination Hydrogels Enabling Self‐Powered and Self‐Luminous Closed‐Loop Systems

Yue Qing Shen, W. Liu, J. Li, Kunda Yao, Shuyan Song
article en

Abstract

Rare-earth (RE) fluorescent hydrogels have emerged as promising candidates for sensing, encryption, and flexible display technologies. However, their reliance on external ultraviolet (UV) excitation severely hampers portability and integration into self-sustained electronic systems. Herein, we report a multifunctional Eu/Tb-doped hydrogel that uniquely combines stretchability, ionic conductivity, and tunable fluorescence. The hydrogel is constructed via EDC/NHS-mediated grafting of terpyridine (TPY) onto polyethyleneimine (PEI), followed by freeze-thaw crosslinking. RE ions coordinate with TPY ligands to generate dynamic crosslinking sites, thereby reinforcing mechanical robustness while imparting strong luminescence. A salting-out effect induced by NaCl further densifies polymer chains and enhances ionic conductivity. Encapsulated with VHB elastomer, the hydrogel functions as an electrode in a triboelectric nanogenerator (RE-TENG), achieving a peak power density of 0.22 W m<sup>-2</sup>. By directly coupling RE-doped fluorescent hydrogels with RE-TENGs, we demonstrate, for the first time, a fully self-powered and self-luminous hydrogel platform. The integrated device efficiently charges capacitors and drives UV LEDs to reveal encrypted fluorescent patterns without any external power supply. This work establishes a new paradigm for merging energy harvesting with information display, opening opportunities for next-generation wearable and secure optoelectronics.

SmallVol. 22(13)
Nanjing University of Science and Technology (CN), Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, People's Government of Jilin Province, Chinesisch-Deutsche Zentrum für Wissenschaftsförderung
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 91%
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
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Rare‐Earth Coordination Hydrogels Enabling Self‐Powered and Self‐Luminous Closed‐Loop Systems — Yue Qing Shen, W. Liu, et al. · Small (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS