Treatment of ZnS:Mn Phosphors by Partial Sublimation of SnO2:Sb Xerogel

SnO2:Sb xerogel was prepared using the sol-gel technique with SnCl2·2H2O and SbCl3 as the starting materials. Partial sublimation of SnO2:Sb xerogel during oxidation was utilized to treat the as-prepared ZnS:Mn phosphors. The mass ratio of SnO2:Sb xerogel to ZnS:Mn phosphors changed from 0.5 to 4.0 and the range of the oxidation temperature was 300-600 °C under the given oxygen flux (0.2 L·min−1) and oxidation duration (30 min). The treated phosphors were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), transmittance electron microscopy (TEM), and electrical resistance measurements. The results showed that the conductivity of the treated ZnS:Mn phosphors was obviously improved when the mass ratio of SnO2:Sb xerogel to ZnS:Mn phosphors and the oxidation temperature were 3.0 and 500 °C, respectively. The photoluminescence characteristics and crystal structures of the treated ZnS:Mn phosphors remained the same as those of the as-prepared phosphors.