Achievement of broadband near-infrared phosphor Ca3Y2Ge3O12:Cr3+, Ce3+ via energy transfer for food analysis

Cr3+-doped Ca3Y2Ge3O12 broadband near-infrared phosphor was synthesized by the high temperature solidstate reaction method. Under the excitation of 475 nm, the emission peak of Ca3Y2Ge3O12:Cr3+ is at 823 nm and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) is 155 nm. The introduction of Ce3+ as a sensitizer leads to the enhancement of CYG:Cr3+ emission intensity. The emission range of CYG:Ce3+, Cr3+ can perfectly cover the frequency doubling absorption band of C–H, O–H and other hydrogen groups. There is an energy transfer process between Ce3+ and Cr3+, and the energy transfer efficiency is as high as 94.21%. According to the near-infrared response to hydrogen group and Lambert-Beer law, the dependence of absorbance Lg(I0/I) on sugar content was explored, and then the reliability and accuracy of the method were verified. The results show that the phosphor Ca3Y2Ge3O12:Ce3+, Cr3+ phosphor has prospects for a potential application in nondestructive food detection. •There is the energy transfer from Ce3+ to Cr3+.•CYG:Ce3+, Cr3+ has certain application value in nondestructive food detection.•The best excitation wavelength of the sample is 475 nm, which can be effectively excited by the blue light chip, and the FWHM is 155 nm.