Rare-earth free self-activated and rare-earth activated Ca2NaZn2V3O12 vanadate phosphors and their color-tunable luminescence properties

•Rare-earth free self-activated and Eu3+ or Sm3+ doped vanadate phosphors Ca2NaZn2V3O12 were synthesized.•The pure-phase garnet structure was verified by the XRD Rietveld refinement.•The energy transfer behaviors from VO43− to Eu3+/Sm3+ ions have been demonstrated.

Novel rare-earth free self-activated and Eu3+ or Sm3+ doped vanadate phosphors Ca2NaZn2V3O12 were synthesized via the solid-state reaction route. The pure-phase garnet structures in this system were verified by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld refinement. The self-activated luminescence and rare earth doped luminescence behaviors have been studied in detail. The broad-band green emission can be found from the as-prepared Ca2NaZn2V3O12 compound, originating from the VO43− emission. The energy transfer behaviors from VO43− to Eu3+/Sm3+ ions in Ca2NaZn2V3O12:A (A=Eu3+, Sm3+) phosphors have been demonstrated by photoluminescence (PL) and decay time measurement. All the results indicate that self-activated Ca2NaZn2V3O12 and the Eu3+ or Sm3+ doped Ca2NaZn2V3O12 phosphors show great potential for the application in the near-UV excited white LEDs.