A novel yellow whitish Dy3+ activated NaZr2(PO4)3 phosphor: Structural, spectral and optical investigations

This study details the effective solution combustion synthesis of novel Na1−xZr2Dyx(PO4)3 (x=0.05−0.5) (hereby abbreviated as NaZrPO:Dy3+) phosphor. The structural investigation of synthesized phosphor employing X-ray diffraction and FTIR spectroscopy reveals the formation of single-phase phosphor and the presence of (PO4)3- group. The lattice parameters turned out to be a=b=8.798Å,c=22.794Å. The morphological and chemical analysis is characterized by FE-SEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. According to PL spectrum, three traditional emission bands of Dy3+ ions (482 nm, 574 nm, and 663 nm) are observed, and the concentration quenching of the Dy3+ ions in the phosphor occurred at 3 mol. % as a result of the dipole-dipole interaction. Photometric results reveal the emission of the synthesized phosphor in the yellow-whitish region with a color purity of ∼80%. The optical parameters obtained from diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy, such as refractive index, metallization criterion, and bandgap, for the optimal molar concentration (3 mol. %) are 2.109, 0.46, and 4.3 eV, respectively. According to these results, when stimulated by a source of n-UV (348 nm), the synthesized phosphor is a promising candidate for solid-state lighting applications and might be used to produce WLEDs.