The role of excess MgO in the intensity increase of red emission of Mn4+-activated Mg2TiO4 phosphors

International audienceThe influence of magnesium oxide (MgO) content on the intensity of red photoluminescence (PL) of Mn4+ ions in Mn-doped phosphors Mg2TiO4:Mn produced by solid-state reaction at 1200 °C has been investigated by PL, optical absorption, X-ray diffraction, and electron paramagnetic resonance methods. The phosphors synthesized with excess MgO show an increase of Mn4+ red emission compared with those of stoichiometric composition. The magnitude of this increase depends on both MgO and Mn content. The largest increase of PL intensity is found for the phosphors synthesized under 3:1 molar ratios of MgO to TiO2. For these phosphors, the PL intensity increases from time 1.1 to time 3 when Mn concentration decreases from 1.0 to 0.0001 mol%. The phosphors produced under 6:1 molar ratios demonstrate a decrease of PL intensity at any Mn concentration. It is shown that excess MgO promotes stabilization of Mg2TiO4 phase against decomposition, hinders formation of Mn2+ centers, and enhances Mn4+ ions incorporation in the Mg2TiO4 crystal lattice. The latter together with reduced concentration quenching are supposed to be the main reasons of PL enhancement, which leads to the conclusion that excess MgO is necessary to produce an efficient red phosphor