Near-infrared long-persistent phosphor of Zn3Ga2Ge2O10: Cr3+ sintered in different atmosphere

• NIR and visible afterglow emission.
• Phosphorescent properties varied with the sintering atmosphere.
• The optimized environment is confirmed as the Argon or Air.

A variety of materials sintered in different atmosphere have been well investigated, but there are few reports on the long-persistent phosphorescent materials, especially the near-infrared long-persistent phosphorescent materials sintered in various atmosphere. Changing the surrounding atmosphere is an effective method to improve the afterglow properties of the materials. In this work, we fabricate a typical kind of near-infrared long-persistent phosphorescent materials of Zn3Ga2Ge2O10: 0.5% Cr3+ in neutral, oxidizing, and reducing atmosphere. By analyzing the XRD patterns, afterglow spectra, decay and thermo-luminescence curves, we discuss the great effects on the structure, long persistent properties and trap properties of the phosphor. This work of obtaining the Zn3Ga2Ge2O10: 0.5% Cr3+ is of great potential in the applications in night-vision surveillance and in vivo bio-imaging.

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