Preparation and broadband white emission of Ce3+-doped transparent glass-ceramics containing ZnO nanocrystals for WLEDs applications

•Ce3+-doped transparent glass-ceramics containing ZnO nanocrystalline were fabricated.•Transmittance, luminescence, lifetime, and energy transfer process were discussed in detail.•A nearly standard white light with a chromaticity coordinate of (0.312, 0.342) was obtained.•Glass-ceramics obtained can be a potential candidate for the WLEDs field. Ce3+-doped transparent glass-ceramics containing ZnO nanocrystals were successfully prepared. The optimal heat treatment condition was determined by DSC, XRD, SEM, and fluorescence spectrum analysis. The transmittances of all the glass-ceramics can reach about 70% in the visible region. With the increase of Ce3+ ions concentration, the stability of the precursor glass decreased slightly. The broadband emission spectrum of the glass-ceramics consists of Ce3+ ions characteristic emission peak at 471 nm (5d → 2F5/2), 524 nm (5d → 2F7/2), blue emission (431 nm), and yellow emission (580 nm) caused by defect emission of ZnO nano-crystalline. As the concentration of doped Ce3+ ions increased, the emission intensity of these glass-ceramics shows an increasing trend. Moreover, the luminescent color from warm white light to cool white light can be achieved by changing the excitation conditions. The chromaticity coordinate (0.312, 0.342) of 1.0 mol% CeO2 doped glass-ceramics is close to the standard white light. The results indicate that luminescent glass-ceramics are promising potential candidate materials for WLEDs (white light-emitting diodes) devices.