Abnormal Pressure-Induced Photoluminescence Enhancement and Phase Decomposition in Pyrochlore La<sub>2</sub>Sn<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub>
2017
ADVANCED MATERIALS
DOI
10.1002/adma.201701513
La2Sn2O7 is a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) material and shows a strong near-infrared fluorescent at ambient pressure and room temperature. By in situ high-pressure research, pressure-induced visible photoluminescence (PL) above 2 GPa near 2 eV is observed. The emergence of unusual visible PL behavior is associated with the seriously trigonal lattice distortion of the SnO6 octehedra, under which the Sn-O1-Sn exchange angle is decreased below 22.1 GPa, thus enhancing the PL quantum yield leading to Sn P-3(1) S-1(0) photons transition. Besides, bandgap closing followed by bandgap opening and the visible PL appearing at the point of the gap reversal, which is consistent with high-pressure phase decomposition, are discovered. The high-pressure PL results demonstrate a well-defined pressure window (7-17 GPa) with flat maximum PL yielding and sharp edges at both ends, which may provide a great calibration tool for pressure sensors for operation in the deep sea or at extreme conditions.