Characterizations of Pr 3+ Ion-Doped LaVO 4 Phosphor Prepared Using a Sol–Gel Method

The luminescent properties of Pr 3+ ion-doped LaVO 4 phosphor synthesized by the sol–gel method were investigated. The x-ray powder diffractometry results shows that the crystal structure of LaVO 4 doped with Pr 3+ phosphor calcined at 950°C for 6 h can be attributed to the monoclinic structure of LaVO 4 . There are no obvious differences for surface morphologies of La 1− x Pr x VO 4 phosphors from the SEM results. For Pr 3+ ion-doped LaVO 4 phosphor, the O 2− and V 5+ charge transfer for the VO 4 3− internal anion overlaps the 4 f –5 d characteristics transition of Pr 3+ ion at the absorption band of 315 nm. There are some emission bands that exist in the emission spectra, which are attributed to the 3 P 0 → 3 H 4,5,6 , 1 D 2 → 3 H 4 , and 3 P 0 → 3 F 2 electron transition of the Pr 3+ ion under an excitation wavelength of 315 nm. However, the intensity of emission peak at 607 nm is stronger than that of 489 nm when the Pr 3+ concentration is less than 2 mol.%. The Commission Internationale de I’Edairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates from an orange-red shift to a white light region and then shift to a light-green region.