Persistent luminescent sub-10 nm Cr doped ZnGa2O4 nanoparticles by a biphasic synthesis route.

This communication highlights a simple and facile biphasic synthesis of sub-10 nm Cr doped ZnGa2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) for the first time. These smallest Cr:ZnGa2O4 NPs demonstrate stable persistent luminescence emission more than 40 min after excitation. This synthesis strategy not only enables the controlled synthesis of these mixed metal oxide NPs unprecedentedly with smallest size to date but also allows them to be solution processable, which is advantageous for relevant applications with feasible and economic device fabrication.