Abstract
Rare earth-doped luminescent materials typically produce characteristic fluorescence emissions associated with the rare earth elements. Here, we report remarkable non-characteristic blue emissions from ytterbium (Yb3+)- and erbium (Er3+)-doped organic-inorganic metal halides, (BDPA)2MCl4 (BDPA+ = benzyldimethylphenylammonium; M2+ = Cd2+, Zn2+). Both Yb3+ and Er3+ ions are commonly used as dopants in phosphors, which generally lead to near-infrared emissions. Theoretical calculations suggest the unique blue emission arises from Yb3+/Er3+-induced exciton radiative recombination from BDPA+ to Cl−, which suppresses the characteristic emissions of these rare earth ions. More notably, owing to structural stability of (BDPA)2MCl4, the Yb3+/Er3+-activated phosphors demonstrate high water resistance, maintaining both stability and photoluminescence (PL) in water for over two months. Further, when these crystals are dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide or dimethyl sulfoxide, the resulting solution continues to exhibit PL with a high quantum yield of ~90%, making it suitable for use as liquid-phase X-ray scintillators.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from Feng Liu (fenglau189@sdu.edu.cn) upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22179072), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2022MD008), the Outstanding Youth Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Overseas) (2022HWYQ-006), the Qilu Youth Scholar Foundation of Shandong University (62460082163114), and Hebei Province Optoelectronic Information Materials Laboratory Performance Subsidy Fund Project (22567634H).
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C.L. and Q.M. prepared samples and wrote the manuscript. Y.B., H.Z., and Z.W. carried out theoretical research. L.H., D.H., and L.W. performed the optical measurements and analyzed the data. W.Y. and H.C. performed the single-crystal analysis. F.L. supervised the experimental process and material design. All authors contributed to the discussions and commented on the manuscript.
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Communications Materials thanks Venkata N. K. B. Adusumalli and the other, anonymous, reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work. A peer review file is available.
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Li, C., Meng, Q., Bai, Y. et al. Unlocking ultra-stable blue emission from Ytterbium- and erbium-doped metal halides. Commun Mater (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-026-01119-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-026-01119-8
