6–10 Jul 2026
University of the Western Cape
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
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Enhancement of Luminescence and Thermal Sensitivity of YVO4:Bi3+ Nanophosphors Facilitated by Ag/Pd Noble Metal Decoration

7 Jul 2026, 17:20
1h 20m
Great Hall (University of the Western Cape)

Great Hall

University of the Western Cape

Poster Presentation Track A - Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials Poster Session 1

Speaker

Lesole Ramolise (University of the Free State)

Description

We demonstrate the controlled synthesis and in depth characterization of Y0.99VO4:0.01Bi3+ nanophosphors engineered with tunable surface decoration of Ag and Pd nanoparticles. X-ray powder diffraction analysis showed that all compositions crystallized in the tetragonal YVO4 phase, while the high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the phosphors comprise monodisperse, uniformly spherical particles with excellent morphological consistency. The optical measurements uncovered a broad excitation band centered at 306 nm, and a correspondingly broad yellow emission peaking at 567 nm. Strikingly, noble metal decoration produced pronounced photoluminescence enhancement: a 1 mol% Ag loading yielded a two fold enhancement relative to the pristine phosphor, whereas 0.5 mol% Pd decoration produced nearly a three fold increase, emphasizing the efficiency of metal–phosphor coupling. Beyond the luminescence enhancement, the decorated samples exhibited robust thermometric response using temperature-dependent lifetime data. The Pd decorated nanophosphor achieved a maximum relative sensitivity of 2.0 % °C⁻¹ at 149 °C, while the Ag decorated sample attained sensitivities of 1.75 % °C⁻¹ at 92 °C and 1.23 % °C⁻¹ at ambient temperature (~27 °C). Collectively, these findings revealed that precise tailoring of metal–semiconductor interfaces in Y0.99VO4:0.01Bi3+ nanophosphors unlocks substantially enhanced optical performance and temperature responsiveness, highlighting their strong potential for next generation high resolution imaging and luminescent sensing technologies.

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Authors

Lesole Ramolise (University of the Free State) Dr Simon Ogugua (University of the Free State) Hendrik Swart (University of the Free State) David Motaung (University of the Free State)

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