Simultaneous structure and luminescence property control of barium carbonate nanocrystals through small amount of lanthanide doping

Rare earth doping has been widely applied in many functional nanomaterials with desirable properties and functions,which would have a significant effect on the growth process of the materials.However,the controlling strategy is limited into high concentration of lanthanide doping,which produces concentration quenching of the lanthanide ion luminescence with an increase in the Ln^(3+)concentration,resulting in lowering the fluorescence quantum yield of lanthanide ion.Herein,for the first time,we demonstrate simultaneous control of the structures and luminescence properties of BaCO_3nanocrystals via a small amount of Tb^(3+)doping strategy.In fact,Tb^(3+)would partially occupy Ba^(2+)sites,resulting in the changes to the structures of the BaCO_3nanocrystals,which is primarily determined by charge modulation,including the contributions from the surfaces of crystal nuclei and building blocks.These structurally modified nanocrystals exhibit tunable luminescence properties,thus emerging as potential candidates for photonic devices such as light-emitting diodes and color displays.

Enhancement of structure stability and luminescence intensity of LiYF_4:Ln^(3+)nanocrystals

LiYF_4 nanocrystals with tetragonal structure were adopted as the host materials for the phosphors and scintillators owing to the low phonon energy and high optical transparency. LiYF_4：Ln^（3＋）（Ce^（3＋）,Eu^（3＋）） nanocrystals were fabricated by solvothermal method. Under UV excitation, they could emit visible light. In order to improve the luminescence intensity, the method of co-doping LiYF_4 nanocrystals with Sc was adopted. Sc^（3＋） ions could reduce the lattice expansion caused by the doping of Ce^（3＋） or Eu^（3＋） whose ionic radius was larger than Y^（3＋）. Crystal structure of Li（Y,Sc）F_4：Ln^（3＋） kept much more stable and the luminescence intensity could be significantly enhanced when the concentration of Sc was a moderate value. Thermoluminescence was employed to analyze the electron traps in Li（Y,Sc）F_4：Ce^（3＋）. Results suggested that the suppression of the generation of electron traps with the co-doping of Sc contributed to the enhancement of luminescence intensity of LiYF_4：Ce^（3＋）.

Luminescence properties of tunable red-green emitting phosphor Ba2Ca(BO3)2：Eu3＋,Tb3＋

A series of Eu^(3+) or Tb^(3+) doped Ba_2Ca(BO_3)_2 phosphors were synthesized by a high temperature solid state method, and the luminescence properties are investigated. Ba_2Ca(BO_3)_2:Tb^(3+) can show an obvious green emission, and the peak locates at 551 nm, which corresponds to the 5D34→7F5 transition of Tb^(3+). Ba_2Ca(BO_3)_2:Eu+ can present the characteristic emission of Eu^(3+), and the peak locates at 600 nm, which is ascribed to the 5D70→F2 transition of Eu^(3+). In order to achieve the emission-tunable phosphors, the Eu^(3+)/Tb^(3+) co-doped Ba_2Ca(BO_3)_2 are synthesized. When tuning the Eu^(3+) or Tb^(3+) concentration, Ba_2Ca(BO_3)_2:Eu^(3+), Tb^(3+) can both show the tunable emission, which may be induced by the energy transfer from Tb^(3+) to Eu^(3+).

White light emission in Pr^(3+),Tb^(3+):CaYAlO_4 phosphor

In this work, the synthesis and photoluminescence characteristics of two new phosphors Pr3+: CaYAlO4(CYA) and Pr3+/Tb3+: CYA for light emitting diodes(LEDs) are investigated. 0.5%(atom percentage) Pr3+: CYA exhibits the largest bright yellow emission by varying the Pr3+ concentration, owing to the cross-relaxation process of 3P0 +3H4→ 1G4+1G4. The energy level diagram in Pr3+: CYA, especially the positions of 4f5 d level and 1S0 level, is discussed. By co-doping Tb3+ ions, the color coordinates of Pr3+/Tb3+: CYA phosphor can be tuned from yellow to white region. Finally, the strongest luminescence emission with color coordinates of(0.339, 0.364) located in the white region can be obtained in 0.3%Tb3+/0.5%Pr3+: CYA phosphor.

Luminescent properties of Tm^(3+)/ Ho^(3+) co-doped LiYF_4 crystals

Ho3+ with various concentrations and Tm3+ with molar concentration of 1.28% are co-doped in Li YF4(YLF) single crystals. The luminescent properties of the crystals are investigated through emission spectra, emission cross section and decay curves under the excitation of 808 nm. The energy transfer from Tm3+ to Ho3+ and the optimum fluorescence emission of Ho3+ around 2.05 μm are investigated. The emission intensity at 2.05 μm keeps increasing with the molar concentration of Ho3+ improved from 0.50% to 1.51% when the molar concentration of Tm3+ is kept at 1.28%. Moreover, for the co-doped crystals in which the molar concentrations of Tm3+ and Ho3+ are 1.28% and 1.51%, respectively, the maximum emission cross section reaches 0.760×10–20 cm2 and the maximum fluorescence lifetime is 21.98 ms. All the parameters suggest that these materials have more advantages in the future 2.0 μm laser applications.

Growth and optical properties of Dy^(3+)/Eu^(3+) co-doped NaYF_4 single crystals with cubic lattice for white LED application

Dy3+/Eu3+ co-doped cubic lattice Na YF4 single crystal with high quality in the size of ~Φ1.0 cm×10.0 cm was grown by an improved Bridgman method using potassium fluoride(KF) as assistant flux. X-ray diffraction(XRD), absorption spectra, excitation spectra and emission spectra are measured to investigate the phase and luminescent properties of the crystal. The effects of excitation wavelength and concentrations of Dy3+ and Eu3+ ions on the luminescent characteristics are analyzed. The Na YF4 single crystal with the doping molar concentrations of 1.205% Dy3+ and 0.366% Eu3+ exhibits an excellent white light emission with chromaticity coordinates of x=0.321, y=0.332. It indicates that the Dy3+/Eu3+ co-doped cubic lattice Na YF4 single crystal can be a potential luminescent material for the ultraviolet(UV) light excited white light emitting diode(w-LED).

Improved luminescent properties of SrZn_2(PO_4)_2:Sm^(3+) doped with Li^+, Na^+ and K^+ ions

SrZn2(PO4)2:Sm3+ phosphor was synthesized by a high temperature solid-state reaction in atmosphere. SrZn2(PO4)2:Sm3+ phosphor is efficiently excited by ultraviolet(UV) and blue light, and the emission peaks are assigned to the transitions of 4G5/2-6H5/2(563 nm), 4G5/2-6H7/2(597 nm and 605 nm) and 4G5/2-6H9/2(644 nm and 653 nm). The emission intensities of SrZn2(PO4)2:Sm3+ are influenced by Sm3+ concentration, and the concentration quenching effect of SrZn2(PO4)2:Sm3+ is also observed. When doping A+(A=Li, Na and K) ions, the emission intensity of SrZn2(PO4)2:Sm3+ can be obviously enhanced. The Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage(CIE) color coordinates of SrZn2(PO4)2:Sm3+ locate in the orange-red region. The results indicate that the phosphor has a potential application in white light emitting diodes(LEDs).