Rare-earth free yellow-green emitting NaZnPO4:Mn phosphor for lighting applications

TL;DR

This study reports a novel, rare-earth free NaZnPO4:Mn phosphor with broad UV-visible absorption and bright yellow-green emission, suitable for cost-effective lighting applications.

Contribution

It introduces a new Mn-doped sodium zinc phosphate phosphor with high quantum efficiency and UV absorption, advancing eco-friendly lighting materials.

Findings

Quantum yield of 63% at 418 nm

Broad-band emission around 543 nm

Efficient energy transfer from Zn-O-Zn bonds

Abstract

Manganese doped sodium zinc phosphate phosphor with exceptional features having ultra-violet (UV) to visible absorption (300-470 nm), yellow-green (~543 nm) broad-band photoluminescence (PL) and appreciable color co-ordinates (x=0.39, y=0.58) is reported. It has a crystal structure consists of discrete PO4 tetrahedra linked by ZnO4 and NaO4 distorted tetrahedral such that three tetrahedra, one of each kind, share one corner. The presence of UV sensitive Zn-O-Zn bonds efficient energy transfer to Mn2+ ions resulted in brightest PL and external quantum yield of 63% at 418 nm. Our experiment demonstrated the possibility of producing inexpensive white-light emitting devices for future.