Hexagonal Er 3+ /Yb 3+ co-doped LaZrTa 3 O 11 (LZTO) phosphor was prepared by molten salt synthesis with B 2 O 3 flux. Holding temperature, holding time, solute and solvent ratio were regulated. The green upconversion luminescence (UCL) integral intensity of the optimal sample can reach 29.2% of β-NaYF 4 :Er 3+ /Yb 3+ under 980 nm laser excitation. This outstanding pure green UCL is due to the low phonon energy, Er 3+ /Yb 3+ monolayer (2D) distribution, asymmetry of Er 3+ /Yb 3+ doped lattice sites, and low oxygen vacancy. The maximum relative temperature sensitivity attains 0.01221 K −1 at 303 K by employing luminescence intensity ratio (LIR) technique. LZTO:Er 3+ /Yb 3+ phosphor can be used in temperature sensing.
Nitrogen doping was applied to layered compound LaZrTa3O11 (a wide bandgap semiconductor photocatalyst). Bandgap reductions >2.2 eV were achieved by this modification, which effectively red-shifted the light-absorption edge of LaZrTa3O11 from 300 nm to ∼650 nm. Nitrogen-doped LaZrTa3O11 (i.e., LaZrTa3O11−xNy) was now active for both water-reduction and -oxidation reactions under visible-light illumination (λ ≥400 nm) with good durability and stability. An apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) as high as 0.53% at 420 ± 20 nm was achieved for water-oxidation reactions. Further analyses suggested that its visible-light activity originated mainly from an uplift of the valence band edge as a result of nitrogen incorporation. This strategy to achieve visible-light activity was very inspiring and could be applicable to other layered compounds that are active only under ultraviolet-light illumination.