The
present work describes various defects-induced tunable emission
behavior of MgAl2O4 compounds obtained after
annealing at different temperatures through a sol–gel combustion
route. Multiple defect centers, such as F, F2, F+, and F2
2+ and different shallow and deep defects
were found to be present inside the band gap, as confirmed by the
lifetime and time-resolved emission spectroscopy (TRES) studies. The
tunable emission characteristic at different annealing temperatures
could be linked with the phase behavior of the spinel. Excitation
wavelength variation suggested that a photoconversion process of F
to F+ centers was involved with λex =
250 nm, followed by a trapping–de-trapping mechanism of the
released electrons within different trap states. An exchange mechanism
of electrons in between conduction band and shallow states was also
observed at room temperature, which was absent at low temperature,
as indicated by the emission profile. These observations render it
to be a potential optical-based thermal sensor material. DFT-based
calculations were carried out for both pure and various oxygen-vacancy-introduced
spinel phases in order to characterize the different defect states
inside the band gap. Finally, on the basis of theoretical and experimental
results, a model has been proposed to explain the mechanisms related
to emission tunability.