Characterizations of Pr 3+ Ion-Doped LaVO 4 Phosphor Prepared Using a Sol–Gel Method

The luminescent properties of Pr3+ ion-doped LaVO4 phosphor synthesized by the sol–gel method were investigated. The x-ray powder diffractometry results shows that the crystal structure of LaVO4 doped with Pr3+ phosphor calcined at 950°C for 6 h can be attributed to the monoclinic structure of LaVO4. There are no obvious differences for surface morphologies of La1−xPrxVO4 phosphors from the SEM results. For Pr3+ ion-doped LaVO4 phosphor, the O2− and V5+ charge transfer for the VO43− internal anion overlaps the 4f–5d characteristics transition of Pr3+ ion at the absorption band of 315 nm. There are some emission bands that exist in the emission spectra, which are attributed to the 3P0 → 3H4,5,6, 1D2 → 3H4, and 3P0 → 3F2 electron transition of the Pr3+ ion under an excitation wavelength of 315 nm. However, the intensity of emission peak at 607 nm is stronger than that of 489 nm when the Pr3+ concentration is less than 2 mol.%. The Commission Internationale de I’Edairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates from an orange-red shift to a white light region and then shift to a light-green region.