Ultraviolet photoluminescent materials from traditional ion-activated phosphors to emerging carbon dots and perovskites

Since Niels Ryberg Finsen won the Nobel Prize 120 years ago for his invention of ultraviolet (UV)-based phototherapy for skin tuberculosis (lupus vulgaris), UV has made great strides, benefit from its powerful sterilization function in the face of the global novel coronavirus epidemic more than 100 years later. Nevertheless, the development of high-efficiency UV materials and devices has encountered tremendous challenges and lags behind comparable visible light-emitting products. Due to the diversity of UV luminescent materials, the field of chemistry is still incomplete, which means that much fundamental knowledge remains to be discovered. In the early days of the exploration of UV photoluminescent materials, rare earth or main group metal ion-activated phosphors are one of the main candidates because of their simple synthesis methods. Recently, carbon dot-based nanomaterials as well as perovskite nanocrystals have been shown to achieve narrow band and high quantum yield. In this review, we systematically review aspects covering the development history, design principles, classification and applications of all promising UV photoluminescent materials, which may inspire researchers to explore the great potential of the UV region.