Preparation and Luminescent Properties of ZnS:Mn Nanocrystals Embedded Glass

ZnS:Mn nanocrystals embedded glass has attracted much attention due to the excellent luminescence performance in reddish orange range, high stability and non-toxicity. However, high temperature and long annealing time needed in a conventional melt-quenching method readily cause the volatilization, invalidation and agglomeration of nanocrystals, greatly reducing the luminescence performance. In this paper, ZnS:Mn nanocrystals embedded glass was prepared via spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 980 ℃ for 10 min, and the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron spin resonance, photoluminescence and fluorescence lifetime analysis. The results show that rapidly sintering at a low temperature is beneficial to avoiding the oxidation of Mn²⁺ and driving Mn²⁺ into the ZnS lattice to realize the effective doping. Also, the generation of defect-related luminescence is suppressed by regulating the composition of ZnS nanocrystals, thereby further enhancing the Mn²⁺ transition luminescence. The ion-doped nanocrystals embedded glass prepared by SPS with the superior performance can be used as a promising solid light convertor in high-power LED devices.