In situ sol–gel composition of multicomponent hybrid precursor to hexagon-like Zn2SiO4:Tb3+ microcrystalline phosphors with different silicate sources

Zn2SiO4 doped with Tb3+ were in situ synthesized by a modified sol–gel technology with the assembly hybrid precursor employed four different silicate sources, i.e. 3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (APMS), 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APES), 3-aminopropyl-methyl-diethoxysilane (APMES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), respectively. The SEM result shows that there exist some novel unexpected micromorphological structures of hexagon-like with the dimension of 0.5–1.0 mm. The photoluminescent properties of Zn2SiO4:Tb3+ phosphors have been studied as a function of Tb3+ doping concentration. Cross-relaxation process between identical Tb3+ ions results in the quenching of the 5D3 emission for high concentration sample.