A series of orange-red emitting Sr2(1-x)B2O5:2xSm3+(x = 0.5–3.0 mol%) phosphors have been synthesized via the self-propagating low-cost solution combustion method. The purpose of this study is to address the amber gap in light-emitting diodes (LEDs). X-ray diffraction technique was employed for structural analysis, which reveals the creation of a purely monoclinic phase having space group P21/a. The optical characteristics of synthesized Sr2B2O5:Sm3+ phosphor were investigated via Photoluminescence (PL) and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The findings of the PL studies indicate that the phosphors doped with Sm3+ ions exhibit distinct emission peaks at 565 nm, 604 nm, 649 nm, and 712 nm when excited by a wavelength of 404 nm. These peaks are ascribed to electronic transitions from 4G5/2 to 6HJ (J = 5/2, 7/2, 9/2, 11/2) energy levels. The temperature-dependent PL studies suggest that the synthesized phosphors display a remarkable thermal stability of 96.1 % and 90 % at 150 ℃ and 200 ℃, respectively. The Diffused Reflectance Spectrum was utilized to estimate the optical band gap energy. The CIE coordinates (0.6, 0.39) for the phosphors were found to be in the orange-red region exhibiting a towering color purity of 98.6 %. The aforementioned findings demonstrate the prepared phosphors will be an auspicious candidate for amber LEDs for automotive illumination.