Dataset of enhanced UV-C emitting properties of Pr3+-activated rare earth phosphates driven by structural lattice distortion through a substitutional doping strategy

Abstract Ongoing global pandemic crisis of coronavirus (COVID-19) and its fast- and wide-spreading into entire worlds, critically intimidating our current and future lives, put more emphasis on the development of efficient UV-C emitting phosphors for the germicidal and medical applications due to the intense UV-C emission, which can effectively deactivate such viruses. In this regard, UV-C emitting Pr3+-activated three presentative rare earth phosphate such as YPO4, LaPO4, and La (x mol.%, x =0-0.21)-doped YPO4 have been systematically investigated in terms of crystallographic evolution and their impact on the UV-C emitting properties. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images along with X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns attested the substitutional doping of La into YPO4 host matrices. Optical properties mainly investigated using the photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy in the spectral range from 220-300 nm corresponding to UV-C energy region clearly demonstrated that the substitutional doping of La into YPO4:Pr3+ leads to the increase in transition probability of UV-C emission, resulted from the electronic transition of activator corresponding to [Xe]4f15d1→[Xe]4f2. The data presented here are related to the research article entitled "Structural distortion induced enhancement in UV-C emitting properties of Pr3+-activated La-substituted yttrium phosphates (Y1-xLaxPO4:Pr3+)".