Effects of additive and sintering temperatures on solution-combustion Zn₃V₂O₈ green phosphor

Zn₃V₂O₈ (or ZVO) nanophosphor was prepared using a simple solution-combustion technique and sintered at 700–800°C for 5 h. The effects of additive and sintering temperatures on structural, morphological and optical properties have been investigated. The structural studies revealed an orthorhombic phase structure. The d-spacing and lattice constants also increased with the sintering temperature. The microplate-shaped morphology of ZVO sintered at 750°C is confirmed by SEM and TEM pictures, with an average grain size of roughly 3–5 μm. The optical energy gap of the direct transition is also estimated, and it decreases from 3.4 to 3.1 eV with the increase in sintering temperature. The ZVO also demonstrated a broad photoluminescence (PL) emission range between 450 and 600 nm, with a peak at 534 nm, indicating green luminescent emission. Large grains with microplate shapes emit the highest PL intensity in ZVO phosphor at 750°C. (author)