Information technology is one of the pillar high-tech in the 21st century. Information functional materials and devices refer to advanced materials and devices used in the process of information acquisition, transmission, storage, processing and display, which have become the basis and leader of information technology development. It is no exaggeration to say that every information technology revolution benefits from a major breakthrough in the field of information functional materials and devices. Luminous materials are such a kind of information functional materials. Their innovative research and development is the core weapon to promote the rapid development of China's display, lighting, photovoltaic and other photoelectric industries, and also the supporting element of many emerging strategic cross industries (such as plant lighting plants that can solve the global food crisis under the cross combination of lighting industry and agriculture). Furthermore, the scintillator material in the luminous materials has played a role as a core component in the fields of national major strategic needs, such as safety inspection, anti-terrorism and anti-terrorism, industrial non-destructive testing, geological exploration, environmental monitoring, etc. As a key detection material, the rare earth scintillator lanthanum bromide cerium doped (LaBr3: Ce3+) scintillator detector has been used in deep space exploration. However, the bottleneck of the current development of luminous materials for lighting is the poor red composition (such as low color rendering index and high color temperature). The red light performance of Mn4+fluoride developed by General Electronics can meet this demand, and has applied for international patent protection, which has effectively stuck the neck of the development of domestic photoelectric lighting enterprises. In recent years, with the up conversion luminescence mechanism of rare earth nanoparticles, luminescent materials have successfully crossed the field of bio optical imaging, and demonstrated their potential application value in bio photothermal therapy. In addition, light-emitting materials have successfully expanded their applications in thermal detection, optical information storage and other fields by using thermal sensitive energy levels or lifetime and long afterglow luminescence mechanism. The redevelopment and innovation of these technical researches cannot be separated from improving the scientific understanding of the luminous mechanism of materials themselves from the level of basic disciplines such as physics and chemistry (such as first principle calculation), just as the breakthrough in basic research is the driving force leading technological innovation. The theoretical and experimental research on the luminescent mechanism of materials can also significantly shorten the research and development cycle from discovery to application of new luminescent materials, and reduce the corresponding research and development costs, which also creates feasibility for coping with the current situation of fierce competition in China's manufacturing industry and meeting the needs of rapid economic development.

In this context, Chinese Journal of Luminescence, a specialized journal in the field of luminescence, published a special issue of "Luminescence Mechanism and Theoretical Simulation" in September 2022. It carried out extensive and in-depth international chemical exchanges around the latest progress, problems and future development trends in the research of material luminous mechanism and theoretical simulation, so as to further enrich and prosper the research plate of luminous mechanism and theoretical simulation, promote the cross integration of theoretical and experimental research in the field of luminescence, assist the design and development of new luminous materials, and serve the construction and development of the national photoelectric industry.