Formation of Sr₂Si₅N₈:Eu²⁺ and Its Transformation to SrSi₆N₈:Eu²⁺ Controlled by Temperature and Gas Pressure

Firing temperature and gas pressure effect of synthesizing Sr₂Si₅N₈:Eu²⁺ were investigated. The emission intensity is positively correlated with the firing temperature under 0.1 and 0.5 MPa gas pressure. The Sr₂Si₅N₈:Eu²⁺ with the highest emission intensity was found at 1700°C and 1980°C under 0.1 and 0.5 MPa gas pressure, respectively. Although the maximum emission intensity of Sr₂Si₅N₈:Eu²⁺ obtained under 0.5 MPa gas pressure condition is higher than that under 0.1 MPa. The Sr₂Si₅N₈:Eu²⁺ synthesized under 0.5 MPa gas pressure in the temperature range from 1600°C to 1800°C have lower emission intensities than that synthesized under 0.1 MPa indicating that the melting of Sr₃N₂ is an important step for the formation of Sr₂Si₅N₈:Eu²⁺. Moreover, the Sr₂Si₅N₈:Eu²⁺ undergoes phase transition into SrSi₆N₈:Eu²⁺ completely after elongating the heating duration to 6 h at 1980°C under 0.5 MPa gas pressure. The same feature was observed under 0.1 MPa gas pressure after firing 8 h at 1750°C. Different heating durations led to different degrees of phase transition.