Diving into the invisible region—a review of crystallographic-site-dependent ultraviolet and near-infrared luminescence of the garnet structure

Abstract

Invisible luminescence materials have attracted considerable attention due to their versatile applications in sterilization, photocatalysis, plant growth, night vision, and laser technology. Among various host materials, garnet-structured compounds stand out as an ideal platform for achieving invisible ultraviolet and near-infrared luminescence, owing to their exceptional capacity to accommodate diverse doping ions, including both transition-metal and rare-earth elements. This review systematically examines the critical relationship between the polyhedral coordination environments in garnet hosts and the resulting invisible luminescence properties of incorporated activators. Furthermore, we discuss current challenges and future research directions in this field. By providing a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art garnet-based invisible luminescent materials, this work aims to facilitate the development of high-performance garnet phosphors tailored for practical applications.