Multi-wavelength tailoring of a ZnGa₂O₄ nanosheet phosphor via defect engineering

The multi-wavelength luminescence tailoring of an individual phosphor free of external dopants is of great interest and technologically important for practical applications. Using ZnGa2O4 nanosheets as a target phosphor, we demonstrate how to artificially control the luminescence wavelength centers and their emission intensities to simultaneously emit ultraviolet/blue, green and red light via a feasible defect engineering strategy. Simple high-temperature annealing of hydrothermally synthesized ZnGa2O4 nanosheets leads to the effective tunability of their emission process to present multi-wavelength luminescence due to the structural distortion and the formation of oxygen vacancies. Controlling the annealing temperature and time can further precisely modulate the wavelengths and their corresponding intensities. It is speculated that the migration of Ga into the [GaO4] tetrahedron and the O vacancy are responsible for the multi-wavelength luminescence of the ZnGa2O4 nanosheet phosphor. Finally, the tentative multi-wavelength luminescence behavior of the ZnGa2O4 nanosheet phosphor via defect engineering is discussed based on a series of evidenced experimental observations of XRD, XPS, HRTEM and CL.