Effect of ultrasound treatment on the morpho-structural and luminescent characteristics of cerium doped yttrium silicate phosphors

Abstract Cerium activated yttrium silicate (Y 2 SiO 5 :Ce) phosphors were prepared by gel-combustion, using yttrium–cerium nitrate as oxidizer, aspartic acid as fuel and TEOS as source of silicon. Two modalities for samples preparation were approached namely: the classical gel-combustion and sonication gel-combustion. The ultrasound treatment during the gelling stage has a positive effect on the structural and luminescent characteristics of the final product. Therefore, a well crystallized single X2–Y 2 SiO 5 phase phosphor was obtained at 1200 °C. Based on FT-IR and XRD investigations, conversion of X1 to X2–Y 2 SiO 5 phases is observed as the firing temperature is varied (1100 °C, 1200 °C, 1300 °C 1400 °C). The ultrasound treatment leads to smaller particle size and enhances the luminescent performances up to 151% in comparison with samples prepared by classical way.