Design of a europium-activated lithium-silicate cyan phosphor via cation substitution

Lithium-containing silicates have been considered as a considerable alternative for luminescent materials. In this study, a novel cyan-emitting phosphor, Na₃LiHf₂Si₃O₁₂: Eu²⁺, was successfully synthesized via cationic substitution with Na₄Hf₂Si₃O₁₂: Eu²⁺ as the initial model. The crystal structure, morphology, and luminescence performance of Na_4-xLi_xHf₂Si₃O₁₂: Eu²⁺ were investigated in detail. The substitution of Li⁺ for Na⁺ site causes a significant blue-shift of the emission band in the range of 550–500 nm and a smaller full width at half maximum. As a result, a cyan phosphor Na₃LiHf₂Si₃O₁₂: Eu²⁺ that can be effectively excited by near-ultraviolet and high-energy beams is obtained. The mechanism of emission regulation was proposed based on the transformation of crystal structure and luminescence performance. In addition, the thermal quenching and cathodoluminescence behaviors were also studied. The results show that cation substitution is an effective method to design new lithium-containing silicate phosphors.