Zn2TiO4: A novel host lattice for Sm3+ doped reddish orange light emitting photoluminescent material for thermal and fingerprint sensor

This paper reports Zn2TiO4:Sm3+ nanophosphors with varying compositions of Sm3+ (1-11 mol%) prepared by solution combustion method. These nanophosphors are characterized employing powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) and lifetime decay studies. The crystallite size estimated from Scherrer's method was found to be in the range 27-40 nm with spherical morphology. Color chromaticity coordinates and correlated color temperature values estimated for the optimized sample indicates that its applicability in orange red emitting and warm white light generation devices. Decay process was carried out for the optimized sample in the temperature range 25-400 °C. The latent fingerprint images were developed on different surfaces under UV illumination. On the basis of above results the Zn2TiO4:Sm3+ (3 mol %) nanophosphors are considered to have potential practical applications.