Red luminescent and structural properties of Mg-doped ZnO phosphors prepared by sol–gel method

Graphical abstract: The Mg-doped phosphors prepared by sol–gel exhibit a strong red emission due to zinc vacancies and oxygen vacancies. Highlights: ► The Mg-doped ZnO phosphors exhibit a strong red fluorescence. ► This study optimized procedure parameters. ► The red emission was attributed to zinc vacancies and oxygen vacancies. - Abstract: Magnesium-doped zinc oxide phosphors with the formula of MgxZn1−xO were synthesized by sol–gel method, and the crystal structure and luminescent properties were investigated by means of XRD, SEM, FTIR, Raman spectrum, EPR, DRS and PL. The results indicated that the materials consisting of MgxZn1−xO particles exhibit good crystallinity and the particle size varies with the calcining temperature. An obvious blue shift of excitation band was observed in samples as the doping concentration was increased from 5 at% to 10 at%. The optimal concentration for obtaining the highest photoluminescent intensity for MgxZn1−xO phosphors was 10 at% (calcined at 875 °C for 3 h). Raman and EPR results suggested that the red emission of Mg-doped ZnO phosphors was attributed to zinc vacancies and oxygen vacancies.