Zn₂SiO₄:Eu³⁺ Red phosphor synthesized by hydrothermal method for light emitting applications

This study presents the luminescence characterization of Zn₂SiO₄:Eu³⁺ (Zn_2-xEu_xSiO₄; x = 0, 0.015, 0.03, 0.045, and 0.06) phosphors, synthesized through the hydrothermal approach. The investigation focused on the influence of europium (Eu) doping in the Zn₂SiO₄ host on the structural and luminescence properties, utilizing various analytical and spectroscopic techniques. The band gap values are decreased from 5.01 to 3.20 eV for the 0 to 6 wt % Eu doped Zn₂SiO₄. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra revealed the presence of a red emission with the peak intensity observed at 614 nm, confirming the successful incorporation of Eu into the Zn₂SiO₄ lattice due to the transition (⁵D₀ → ⁷F₂), attributed to an induced electric dipole transition. The average luminescence decay lifetime was determined using the tri-exponential fitting technique, and the value was found to be 33 ns, which showcased valuable insights for potential optoelectronic applications.