Rare Earth Luminescent Materials and Complexes: Structure, Properties and Applications
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Photochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 7
Special Issue Editors
Interests: coordination chemistry; rare earth complexes; immobilization matrices; photoluminescence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: fine inorganic synthesis; rare earth chemistry; photocatalysis; thin films; nuclear chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Rare earth luminescent materials and complexes continue to stand at the forefront of materials research due to their outstanding optical properties, structural diversity, and broad application potential. The sharp emission lines, long-lived excited states, and excellent photostability of lanthanide-based systems make them indispensable for next-generation technologies in areas such as optical telecommunications, advanced lighting, sensing, and bioimaging.
This Special Issue, “Rare Earth Luminescent Materials and Complexes: Structure, Properties and Applications”, aims to highlight recent advances in the synthesis, characterization, and application of rare earth luminescent materials, ranging from molecular complexes to hybrid systems and nanostructures. We are particularly interested in contributions that explore structure–property relationships, innovative synthetic strategies, photophysical mechanisms (including upconversion and downshifting), and real-world applications.
We welcome original research articles, short communications, and review papers covering topics such as:
- Design and synthesis of luminescent rare earth complexes and materials
- Hybrid organic–inorganic and nanostructured luminescent systems
- Time-resolved luminescence and spectroscopic studies
- Applications in photonics, optoelectronics, sensing, and biomedicine
- Mechanistic insights into luminescence processes
- Advances in sustainable or multifunctional luminescent materials
Given the interdisciplinary nature of this field, contributions from across materials chemistry, coordination chemistry, photophysics, nanotechnology, and biomedical engineering are encouraged. We hope that this Special Issue will serve as a platform for researchers to share their latest findings and inspire new directions in rare earth luminescent science.
We look forward to your valuable contributions.
Dr. Joana Zaharieva
Prof. Dr. Dimitar Todorovsky
Guest Editors
Dr. Vladimira S. Videva
Guest Editor Assistant
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- rare earth elements
- lanthanide complexes
- luminescent materials
- photophysical properties
- upconversion
- downshifting
- coordination compounds
- hybrid materials
- optical materials
- bioimaging
- photonics
- sensing
- nanomaterials
- structure–property relationships
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
