Self-activated emission and spectral temperature-dependence of Gd8V2O17 phosphor

Abstract

Gd8V2O17 was prepared via the facile solid-state reaction. The optical absorption, temperature-dependent luminescence, and decay lifetimes were investigated. Gd8V2O17 has a direct allowed electronic transition with band gap energy of 3.18 eV. Under the excitation of UV light, the phosphor shows the typical self-activated luminescence from the charge transfer (CT) transitions in VO43− groups. The emission intensity has a nearly constant value from 10 to 150 K, while it increases above 150 K. And the emission has an abnormal blue-shift with the increase of temperature from 10 to 300 K, so the luminescence color varies from green to blue. Over the whole temperature ranges, the maximum emission wavelength showed a linear dependence on temperature; consequently, the temperature-dependent properties have a potential advantage in luminescence thermometry. The luminescence mechanism was discussed on the proposed two VO4 emission centers and the energy transfer between them.