Effect of lanthanide ion co-doping on the luminescence in the cerium-doped zinc oxide-phosphor system

Novel cerium, praseodymium doped, and co-doped zinc oxide nanophosphors were prepared by a solid-state reaction method. The nanopowders were characterized using X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible, and photoluminescence. X-ray diffraction results showed high crystalinity in the nanoscale. Emission spectra of both doped and co-doped samples lay in the bluish green region. Color chromaticity co-ordinates were estimated for the Praseodymium co-doped nanophosphor. It was shown that optical emission could be modified by adding praseodymium into the cerium doped zinc oxide lattice. This work demonstrates that luminescence enhancement in zinc oxide is possible by introducing rare earth ions, and the resulting materials may have promise for lighting applications.