YAG:Ce3+ phosphor materials with a higher conversion of blue light to yellow light through its submicron particles are prepared by sol-gel derived liquid phase sintered using Na2CO3-SiO2-NaF flux and its luminescent properties are compared with the solid phase sintered phosphor. The liquid phase sintered phosphor material shows a strong absorbance in the blue light region and its luminescent intensity is about 30% higher with a better CIE color co-ordinate, color rendering index (CRI) and correlated color temperature (CCT) when compared with the solid phase sintered phosphor. This enhancement is possible owing to the improved optical properties of the liquid phase sintered phosphor that indicate high crystallinity, better microstructure with morphological control, and porous free close packing of phosphor particles with good dispersibility in the polymer matrix. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.