Structure and Upconversion Luminescence Properties of Pr(3+)-Doped Y(2)SiO(5) Phosphor

Ultraviolet-C light has significant application prospects in the fields of disinfection, air purification, etc. Herein, an effective UVC upconversion phosphor Y(2)SiO(5):Pr(3+) was successfully prepared, as evidenced by the XRD results. The diffuse reflection spectra of Y(2)SiO(5): Pr(3+) phosphors presented two distinct absorption bands corresponding to the electron transitions of (3)H(4) → (3)P(2) and (3)H(4) → (1)D(2), and the E(g) was determined to be 4.22 eV for the Y(2)SiO(5) host, which is very close to the E(g) (4.172 eV) calculated by DFT. Under the excitation of 460 nm laser, two emission peaks centered at ~247 nm and ~ 258 nm were found in the range of 230-280 nm, which are attributed to the transitions of 4f5d → (3)H(4) and 4f5d → (3)H(5) of Pr(3+) ions. With the help of temperature-dependent emission spectra, the phosphor demonstrated impressive thermal stability up to 150 °C. These findings indicate that the Y(2)SiO(5): Pr(3+) phosphor has the potential application in disinfection.