Chemical co-precipitation synthesis and photoluminescence of Eu3+ or Dy3+ doped Zn3Nb2O8 microcrystalline phosphors from hybrid precursors

Dy3+, Eu3+ activated Zn3Nb2O8 phosphors were synthesized via a modified chemical co-precipitation technology with the different concentration. In order to obtain the hybrid precursors, the rare earth coordination polymers with salicylic acid were used as precursors and the polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used as dispersing media. Their microstructure and micromorphology have been analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscope (SEM), which indicates that there exist some novel column-like microcrystalline particles with 0.5–5.0 μm sizes in dimension. The characteristic transition of Dy3+ and Eu3+ were identified in the emission spectra and the optimum concentration of activators in Zn3Nb2O8 was found.