Sol‐gel synthesis and luminescent properties of red‐emitting Y(P,V)O 4 :Eu 3+ phosphors

Eu 3+ ‐activated Y(P,V)O 4 phosphors were prepared by the EDTA sol‐gel method, and the corresponding morphologies and luminescent properties were investigated. The sample particles were relatively spheroid with size of 2–3 µm and had a smooth surface. The excitation spectra for Y(P,V)O 4 :Eu 3+ consisted of three strong excitation bands in the 200–350 nm range, which were attributed to a Eu 3+ ‐ O 2− charge‐transfer band and 1 A 1 − 1  T 1 / 1  T 2 transitions in VO 4 3− . The as‐synthesized phosphors exhibited a highly efficient red luminescence at 613 nm due to the Eu 3+ 5 D 0 − 7  F 2 electric dipole transition. With the increase in the V 5+ /P 5+ ratio, the luminescence intensity of the red phosphor under UV excitation was greatly improved due to enhanced VO 4 3−  → Eu 3+ energy transfer. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.