Delayed luminescence of Ce3+ doped X1 form of Y2SiO5

The aim of the present work was to study the luminescence properties of the Ce3+ (xCe = 0.01) doped X1 form of Y2SiO5. The materials were prepared by a sol-gel reaction between yttrium and cerium nitrate hydrates as well tetraetoxysilane with annealing in reducing conditions at 1100 °C. A strong luminescence band at 445 nm was observed with a decay time of 44 ns. In addition, two weak bands were observed at 479 and 575 nm. The decay times of the latter bands were about 800 and 870 μs, respectively. These weak emission bands were tentatively explained to be due to the Ce4+ charge transfer luminescence associated with oxygen vacancies created by the reducing preparation conditions.