A benign approach for novel synthesis of Eu3+ doped MgNb2O6: Its photoluminescence and photocatalytic studies

The Present work involves the production of Eu³⁺ (1–11 mol %) doped MgNb₂O₆ nanophosphors (NPs) by combustion technique using ODH as a fuel for the first time and well characterized. The average crystallite and the energy gap of the samples were found to be in the range of 20–45 nm and 4.65–5.66 eV respectively, TEM results reflects the same crystallite size values. The effect of doping was confirmed by the characteristic emission peaks recorded at ~535, 590, 614, 642 and 698 nm may be attributed to the 4f–4f intra shell transitions (⁵D₀→⁷F_j=0,1,2,3,4) of Eu³⁺ cations when bombarded at 395 nm energy. Judd–Ofelt parameters (Ω₂, Ω₄), transition probabilities (A_T), quantum efficiency (η), luminescence lifetime (τ_rad) are discussed in detail. From the emission spectra, CIE (Commission International de I’ Eclairage) chromaticity co-ordinates and Correlated color temperature (CCT) were estimated. Langmuir-Hinshelwood model was used to study the photocatalytic degradation of AR-88 dye. The above results confirmed that the present phosphor can be potentially used for display and photocatalytic applications.