Professor Park Sang-moon's Team at Silla University Develops Rare-Earth-Free Blue Fluorescent Material ... Plans to Apply to High-Efficiency Displays

Professor Sangmun Park (left) and PhD candidate Seongjun Yang.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Professor Park Sang-moon's team from the Department of Fire Safety and the Department of Energy Environment and Chemistry at Silla University recently developed a blue luminescent material that emits light by itself without rare earth elements.

The research team experimentally explained the blue luminescence theory by creating cationic and anionic defects in strontium orthoborate (Sr3B2O6) through structural and optical studies of the material.

They also succeeded in applying the developed blue luminescent material together with a rare earth-free orange material developed in previous research to white LEDs.

Rare earth elements refer to 17 elements among the total 118 elements in the periodic table and are essential components used in secondary batteries, catalysts, magnetics, and fluorescent materials.

Rare earths, which are key materials for renewable energy, have become a burden for domestic companies reliant on imports due to soaring prices since 2011, alongside the production of electric vehicles.

This research is attracting attention as it is expected to be widely used in advanced industrial fields as a substitute for expensive rare earths by developing display materials using inexpensive materials.

Professor Park Sang-moon said, “We have various research plans to apply and utilize rare earth-free materials in high-efficiency displays.”

The research was published as a cover article in the prestigious journal in the field of physical chemistry, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (ACS, IF:6.888).

The study was conducted with support from the Regional University Excellent Scientist Project of the National Research Foundation and the Busan BB21+ Project, with doctoral student Yang Sung-jun as the first author and Professor Park Sang-moon as the corresponding author.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.