Synthesis and luminescent properties of hexagonal BaZnSiO4:Eu2+ phosphor

A green-emitting phosphor of hexagonal BaZnSiO₄:Eu²⁺ was prepared by a combustion-assisted synthesis method and an efficient green emission from ultraviolet to visible light was observed. The luminescence and crystallinity were investigated by using luminescence spectrometry and X-ray diffractometry. In the hexagonal structure of BaZnSiO₄:Eu²⁺ phosphor, Eu²⁺ ions occupy three different lattice sites by substitution for Ba²⁺ ions. Eu²⁺ ions on Ba (1) and Ba (2) sites gave emissions at about 505 nm while Eu²⁺ ions on Ba (3) sites showed an emission band at 403 nm. The excitation spectrum is a broad band extending from 260 to 465 nm, which matches the emission of ultraviolet light-emitting diodes. The critical quenching concentration of Eu²⁺ in BaZnSiO₄:Eu²⁺ phosphor is about 0.05 mol. The value of the critical transfer distance is calculated as 10.97 Å. The corresponding concentration quenching mechanism is verified to be the electric multipole–multipole interaction. The CIE coordinates of the optimized sample $mathrm{Ba}_{0.95}mathrm{ZnSiO}_{4}{:}mathrm{Eu}_{0.05}^{2+}$ were calculated as (x,y)=(0.172,0.463).