Hydrothermal synthesis and photoluminescence properties of In3+ co-doped YVO4:Eu3+ phosphors

•In3+ doped YVO4:Eu3+ red phosphors were synthesized by hydrothermal method.•Luminescence intensity of YVO4:Eu3+, In3+ (5 mol%) was 150% higher than YVO4:Eu3+.•The quenching behaviors have also been observed in YVO4:Eu3+, In3+ phosphors.•The effects of In3+ dopants on the luminescence property have been proposed.

In3+ co-doped YVO4:5%Eu3+ red phosphors were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. The impacts of In3+ co-doping concentration onto the crystal structure, morphology, and photoluminescence properties were elucidated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence spectra, and the luminescence intensity change. The results indicated that with increasing the In3+ co-doping concentration, the intensity of excitation and emission spectra was continuously increased, reached maximum at In3+ concentration of 5 mol%, and then was diminished for higher In3+ content which indicated concentration quenching. The distinct enhancement of the photoluminescence of YVO4:Eu3+, In3+ phosphors at lower In3+ co-doping concentration can be attributed to the incorporation of In3+ improving the host lattice absorption of YVO4. Thereafter, with the increase of In3+ concentration exceeding 5 mol%, the emission intensity was decreased which is mainly due to the fact that the electronegativity of indium is greater than yttrium, and it is not beneficial to the charge transfer process of O2− → V5+ inside the VO43− ions, thus further weakening the energy transfer from VO43− groups to Eu3+ ions.

Graphical abstractEmission relative intensity of the YVO4:Eu3+, In3+ phosphors as a function of the indium concentration.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide