Luminescent properties of silver(I) diphosphate of compositions Na2-xAgxZnP2O7

The luminescence of silver(I) ions was investigated in diphosphate of compositions Na2-xAgxZnP2O7. The [P2O7] groups share corners with [ZnO4] tetrahedra in a layer arrangement. The Na/Ag atoms are located between layers in distorted oxygenated cubic sites sharing faces-with short intermetallic distances-or edges. Two luminescent centers were detected and attributed, respectively, to single Ag+ and Ag+-Ag+ pairs. The luminescent parameters are discussed with respect to the symmetry of the silver sites and of the ionocovalent character of the silver oxygen bonds. (C) 2000 Academic Press.