Structural and luminescence properties of Gd 2 Si 2 O 7 :Ce prepared by solution combustion followed by heat treatment

•Synthesis of triclinic and orthorhombic phases of Gd2Si2O7:Ce by a two step process.•Method involves solution combustion followed by a post heat treatment.•Ce concentration is found to affect the orthorhombic phase formation temperature.•First time reporting a double exponential decay in nano sized Gd2Si2O7:Ce.