White light-emitting Mg0.1Sr1.9SiO4:Eu2+ phosphors

Divalent europium-activated strontium orthosilicate Sr2SiO4:Eu2+ and Mg0.1Sr1.9SiO4:Eu2+ phosphors were synthesized through the solid-state reaction technique. Their luminescent properties under ultraviolet excitation were investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that these phosphors are of α′-Sr2SiO4 phase with a trace of β-Sr2SiO4. Doping of Eu2+ ion into the crystal lattice results in the lattice constant being expended, while Mg2+ makes the lattice constant shrinking. A solid solution with the same crystal structure is formed when Eu2+ or Mg2+ substitutes part of Sr2+ ions and occupies the same lattice sites. The Sr2SiO4:Eu2+ phosphors show two emission spectra peaked at 535 and 473 nm originated from the 5d–4f transition of Eu2+ ion doped in two different Sr2+ sites in the host lattice. By substitution of 0.1 mol of Sr2+ with Mg2+, these two emission bands are tuned to be in the blue and yellow region (459 and 564 nm for Mg0.1Sr1.88SiO4:Eu0.02), respectively. The tuning effect is discussed. With a combination of the blue and yellow emission bands the phosphors show white color, indicating that these phosphors may become promising phosphor candidates for white light-emitting diodes (LEDs).