Accurate measurement of stress distribution using NaNbO₃:Pr nanoparticles

Mechanoluminescence is a kind of luminescent phenomena that produces photon emission by mechanical stimulation. Benefiting from the characteristics of linear, reusable and nondestructive luminescence, it shows an attractive application prospect in the field of stress distribution detection and attracts more and more attention. However, due to the large size of currently prepared particles, the spatial resolution is around 100 μm. It is necessary to prepare nanoscale particles. However, due to the large specific surface area and high density of surface defects, the luminescent performance of nanoparticles is seriously weakened, limiting their practical applications. On the other hand, the mechanism research of mechanoluminescence is not in-depth enough, which has no guiding significance for material development and performance improvement. Here, we prepared the precursor through hydrothermal synthesis, then annealed the precursor in 1050 °C. By adjusting the doping amount of Pr³⁺, we obtained a kind of high-brightness nanoscale mechanoluminescent material, NaPrNbO₃. This new type of force-induced material is expected to usher in a new era of high resolution strain imaging and contribute to the research of precise dynamic stress/strain imaging of structures.