Green and yellow luminescence properties of Willemite Zn2SiO4 nanocomposites by sol–gel method

Abstract

Nanoparticles of willemite, α-Zn2SiO4 have been prepared by a sol–gel method. These samples were prepared by a simple solid-phase reaction under natural atmosphere at 1200 °C after the incorporation of ZnO:Mn and ZnO:V nanoparticles in silica monolith. The nanophosphors powder samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. XRD analysis revealed that the α-Zn2SiO4 phase was at 1200 °C. In addition, the PL spectrum for the α-Zn2SiO4:Mn nanocomposite showed that a dominant peak at 525 nm which is due to4T1–6A1 transitions of Mn2+ ions. In the case of α-Zn2SiO4:V, the PL had shown a band centered around 540 nm. This band is due to the V in the interfaces between Zn2SiO4 particles and SiO2 host matrix. The findings of this work are very promising and can justify the use of these novel materials as a potential candidate in the field of photonic applications.