Mechanoluminescence of Ba2MgSi2O7 doped with Eu2+ and Dy3+ phosphor by impulsive deformation

Di‐barium magnesium silicate phosphor doped with Eu²⁺ and Dy³⁺ was prepared using a solid‐state reaction technique under a reducing atmosphere. The sample underwent impulsive deformation by impact from a piston for mechanoluminescence (ML) investigations. The temporal ML characteristics of the phosphor were observed, which expressed a single sharp peak with a long decaying period. To investigate the luminescence centre responsible for the ML peak, the ML spectrum of the phosphor was also observed. The recorded ML spectrum was similar in shape and peak wavelength to the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, which verifies the existence of a single emission centre due to the transition of Eu²⁺ ions, i.e. transitions from any of the sublevels of the 4f⁶5d¹ configuration to the ⁸S_7/2 level of the 4f⁷ configuration. Decay rates for different impact velocities were also calculated using curve‐fitting techniques. The time of the ML peak and the rate of decay did not change significantly with respect to increasing impact velocity of the load and peak ML intensity varied linearly. The mechanism of the ML emission was also discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.