Host sensitized near-infrared emission in Nd3+-Yb3+ Co-doped Na2GdMg2V3O12 phosphor

Yb3+/Nd3+ singly and co-doped Na2GdMg2V3O12 phosphors with near-infrared (NIR) emission were synthesized via sol-gel method. The phase purity and structure of samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the photoluminescence emission (PL) and excitation (PLE) spectra along with decay curves were also measured. Near infrared (NIR) emissions (850-1150 nm) from acceptors Yb3+ or Nd3+ matching well with the response curve of the silicon solar cell were obtained, in which VO43- groups acted as sensitizers by capturing near ultraviolet photons which are not absorbed efficiently by silicon solar cell and transferred them to Yb3+/Nd3+ by energy transfer processes. The NIR emission intensities of the Nd3+-Yb3+ co-doped samples Na2GdMg2V3O12 were enhanced greatly in comparison with that of Nd3+/Yb3+ singly doped samples, and the possible energy transfer processes were also discussed in detail. Results indicate that the obtained samples are potential solar spectral down-conversion (DC) convertors to enhance the conversion efficiency of the silicon solar cells. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.