Enhanced luminescence intensity and color purity of the red emitting LnVO4:Eu3+@ SiO2 (Ln = Gd, Y and Gd/Y) powder phosphors

Abstract An attempt was made to enhance the luminescence properties of LnVO 4 :Eu 3+ @ SiO 2 (Ln = Gd, Y and Gd/Y) powder phosphors. Pure phase with tetragonal structure of the produced phosphors was confirmed by XRD profiles. Sub-micron sized phosphors have shown 35% more PL intensity than the bulk, which was further improved 20.22% with SiO 2 shell coating. SiO 2 shell coating was optimized by SEM-EDAX, FT-IR, PL and TEM measurements. Emission intensities of the transition, 5 D 0  →  7 F 2 have dominated 5 D 0  →  7 F 1 , which indicated the lowering of an inverse symmetry in the vicinity of Eu 3+ ions. Luminescence intensity and color purity were enhanced with the host modification by substituting Gd 3+ with Y 3+ sites, followed by SiO 2 coating. Based on the systematic investigations carried out, the phosphor Y 0.95 VO 4 :Eu 3+ 0.05 @ SiO 2 is suggested to be a novel contender for its suitable red emission in certain displays or lighting.