Color tuning and energy transfer investigation in Na2Ca4Mg2Si4O15:Eu2+, Mn2+ phosphor and its potential application for UV-excited UV-WLEDs

In this paper, a novel single-phased white light emitting phosphor Na2Ca4Mg2Si4O15:Eu2+, Mn2+ was prepared successfully via the high temperature solid state reaction. The obtained Na2Ca4Mg2Si4O15:Eu2+ phosphor exhibits a broad excitation band ranging from 200 to 450 nm and a blue light emission band peaking at 480 nm, originating from 4f7 ↔ 4f65 d1 (f-d) electric dipole allowed transitions of Eu2+ ions. Due to the energy transfer from Eu2+ to Mn2+ ions, the co-doped Eu2+ ions in the Na2Ca4Mg2Si4O15:Eu2+, Mn2+ phosphors markedly enhances the luminescence intensity of Mn2+ ions, providing highly attractive tunable color. The luminescent mechanism invoking the energy transfer between Eu2+ ions and Mn2+ ions has been certified to be dipole–quadrupole interaction predominantly through the investigations of the luminescence spectra and the fluorescence decay curves. Our results show that the novel Na2Ca4Mg2Si4O15:Eu2+, Mn2+ phosphor is a very promising candidate for UV white light emitting diodes.