Luminescence behaviors of a novel white-emitting phosphor Bi4Si3O12:Dy prepared via sol–gel route

A kind of direct white light phosphor Bi4Si3O12:Dy3+ (BSO:Dy3+) was successfully prepared through a sol–gel technique and its luminescence properties were investigated. The white-light emission is assigned to a mixture of three emission peaks located at 460 nm, 488 nm and 575 nm, respectively. The possible process of origin phosphorescence has been discussed and PL spectra under different temperature conditions have also been recorded. The chromaticity color coordinates of BSO:Dy phosphors at different temperatures were calculated. The thermoluminescence curves exhibit two peaks at 400 and 440 K in the range of 300–550 K, corresponding to the electron traps with depths of 1.225 and 1.527 eV individually. The BSO samples co-doped with Dy and Tb were also prepared and their luminescence properties were investigated. This work provides a promising approach for the development of white light phosphors.