Preparation and characteristics of highly triboluminescent ZnS film

Triboluminescence (TL) is the emission of light induced by the application of mechanical energy. The triboluminescent intensities of various inorganic bulk materials and films were investigated with a photon counting system. It was found that ZnS doped with 5 at% Mn exhibited the strongest TL intensity among the materials investigated. Increase in the crystallinity of ZnS also greatly enhanced TL intensity. Optimizing preparation conditions produced a strong triboluminescent film, which gave an intense visible light emission when friction was applied to it.