Dual‐Functional Phosphors Based on Ba ₂ Zn ₂ TeP ₂ O ₁₁ : White‐Light Emission and Luminescence Quenching Sensors

An interesting telluro‐phosphate compound, Ba 2 Zn 2 TeP 2 O 11, was prepared employing traditional solid‐state chemistry method. The transition‐metal‐substituted (Ba/Ca/Pb) 2 Zn 2‐ x M x Te(P/V) 2 O 11 (M = Co, Ni, Cu, Mg) compounds, characterized employing powder X‐ray diffraction, show bright unique color. The structural studies have been done using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The compounds exhibit reasonably high dielectric constants with low dielectric loss. The Ba 2 ZnCoTeP 2 O 11 and Ba 2 ZnNiTeP 2 O 11 compounds exhibit antiferromagnetic behavior, while the Ba 2 ZnCuTeP 2 O 11 compound exhibits paramagnetic behavior. A series of single‐phase color tunable Ba 2 Zn 2 TeP 2 O 11 : RE 3+ (RE = Eu, Tb, and Tm) phosphors have been prepared and characterized, employing photoluminescence studies. The substituted compounds,Ba 2 Zn 2 TeP 2 O 11 : Eu 3+ , Ba 2 Zn 2 TeP 2 O 11 : Tb 3+ , and Ba 2 Zn 2 TeP 2 O 11 : Tm 3+ exhibit characteristic emissions of Eu 3+ (red), Tb 3+ (green), and Tm 3+ (blue), respectively. By carefully adjusting the concentration of Eu 3+ ions in the Ba 2 Zn 2 TeP 2 O 11 : 2% Tm 3+ , 2% Tb 3+ , and x % Eu 3+ ( x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) system, we achieved white light emission. It also demonstrates selective and sensitive detection of nitroaromatics (nitrobenzene and 4‐nitrophenol) by turn‐off luminescence.