Development of self-activated photoluminescent amorphous magnesium phosphate via microwave-assisted synthesis and structural de-watering

It is well established that calcium phosphate can be a self-activated photoluminescent agent via lattice water removal-induced intrinsic defects, whose luminescence intensity can be further enhanced in terms of the amorphous state. Inspired by these facts, self-activated photoluminescent amorphous magnesium phosphate (MgP) was synthesized via microwave irradiation and thermal processing, along with calcium magnesium phosphate (CaMgP) and calcium phosphate (CaP) for comparisons. The relevant fluorescence imaging and transient steady-state fluorescence spectrometer tests revealed that the fluorescence performance of the as-formed particles increased in the order of CaP, CaMgP, and MgP. This phenomenon was attributed to the difference in structural water loss among these particles during thermal processing, in which the three tested materials experienced weight losses of 10%, 19%, and 25% when heated to [Formula: see text]C. Despite this, when amorphous MgP was heated up to 200, 300, and [Formula: see text]C, its photoluminescence emission intensity also increased. The impact of the pH of the precursor solution was also studied, paving the way for further improving MgP’s photoluminescence properties.