The synergism between self-activated and impurity-related emissions of LiCaZnVO: lattice distortion, energy transfer and temperature sensing effect.

Some of the metal vanadates have special self-activated luminescence. In order to further enrich its luminous color, luminescent impurity ions can be introduced into its lattice. The interaction between the self-activated emission and the impurity-related emission remains to be studied. In this work, the synergism between the two kinds of emission in LiCaZnVO was explored from these three aspects: lattice distortion, energy transfer and temperature effect. Eu ions replace Ca ions in the lattice of LiCaZnVO, leading to a lattice contraction of the LCZV host, which depresses the self-activating emission around 500 nm. The characteristic linear emissions of Eu ions are also observed benefiting from the energy transfer from [VO] to Eu. Since the temperature quenching effect is more sensitive for the self-activated emission than that for the Eu-related ones, the phosphor can be applied as a luminescent temperature sensor, with the absolute and relative temperature sensitivities of 0.012 K and 1.56% K, respectively.