Photoluminescence enhancement of SnO2:Eu by Mg2+ doping

The influence of Mg2+ doping on the crystallization behavior and enhancement in photoluminescence intensity of SnO2:Eu was investigated. Highly homogeneous and pure samples were prepared by Pechini type sol–gel method and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The results indicated that the incorporation of Mg2+ ions into SnO2 lattice could induce a remarkable increase of photoluminescence and the primary reasons were deduced.