biostudies-literatureYang BNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China)1909https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12923652biostudies-literatureUnknown17(1)Persistent luminescence materials are promising for night-vision displays, background-free medical diagnostics, and high-resolution radiography, yet achieving efficient violet, yellow, and red emission within a single robust and scalable host remains a longstanding challenging. Here, we overcame this limitation by constructing Gd³⁺-mediated cluster traps within alkaline-earth fluorochlorides to minimize energy loss during electron migration. These clusters serve as both intrinsic emitters and efficient energy transfer platforms for various activators, including Eu²⁺, Sm²⁺, Tb³⁺, and Mn²⁺, enabling bright and spectrally tunable multicolor persistent luminescence upon X-ray irradiation. The persistent luminescence intensity of Eu<sup>2+<Nature communicationsEfficient multicolor X-ray excited persistent luminescence enabled by Gd-mediated trap clusters.PMC129236525217216462475248Deng RLei LLi DXu SYang BWang YZhao JfalseEfficient multicolor X-ray excited persistent luminescence enabled by Gd-mediated trap clusters.Persistent luminescence materials are promising for night-vision displays, background-free medical diagnostics, and high-resolution radiography, yet achieving efficient violet, yellow, and red emission within a single robust and scalable host remains a longstanding challenging. Here, we overcame this limitation by constructing Gd³⁺-mediated cluster traps within alkaline-earth fluorochlorides to minimize energy loss during electron migration. These clusters serve as both intrinsic emitters and efficient energy transfer platforms for various activators, including Eu²⁺, Sm²⁺, Tb³⁺, and Mn²⁺, enabling bright and spectrally tunable multicolor persistent luminescence upon X-ray irradiation. The persistent luminescence intensity of Eu<sup>2+<2026-01-01T00:00:00Z2026 Jan2026-07-16T14:46:23.406Z2026-07-09T11:01:10.438ZS-EPMC129236524156571510.1038/s41467-026-68799-1