Synthesis and Photoluminescence Properties of InVO4:Eu3+ Phosphors Prepared Using Sol-Gel Method

InVO4 doped with Eu3+ ions had been synthesized at 950° for 6 hr in air using the sol-gel method. XRD results indicate that the crystallinity of InVO4:Eu3+ powders decreases with increasing Eu3+ ion concentrations. From the SEM images, the shapes of the InVO4 particles are uniform and like pebbles. With increasing Eu3+ ion concentrations, the shapes of the InVO4:Eu3+ particles become smaller and irregular. In the PL studies, the sharp excitation peaks between 300 and 600 nm correspond to the Eu3+ intra-4f transitions. For (In1-xEux)VO4 system, excitation at 326 nm shows that the (In1-xEux)VO4 phosphors display bright red luminescence at about 615 nm belonging to the 5D0→7F2 electric dipole transition, and the time-resolved 5D0→7F2 transition presents a single exponential decay behavior. The saturation of emission intensity excited by intra-4f transitions occurs at a concentration of x = 0.3, indicating that the concentration quenching is active when x > 0.3.