Tunable luminescence evolution and energy transfer behavior of Na 3 Sc 2 (PO 4 ) 3 :Ce 3+ /Tb 3+ /Eu 3+ phosphors

Abstract

A series of color-tunable emitting Na 3 Sc 2 (PO 4 ) 3 :Ce 3+ /Tb 3+ /Eu 3+ (NSPO) phosphors were prepared by a combination of hydrothermal synthesis and low temperature calcination. The phase structure, photoluminescence and energy transfer properties of the samples were studied in detail. The tunable colors were obtained by co-doping the Tb 3+ ions into the NSPO:Ce 3+ or NSPO:Eu 3+ phosphors with varying concentrations. Under UV excitation, the energy transfers from Tb 3+ to Eu 3+ in the NSPO host occurred mainly via a dipole-dipole mechanism, and the critical distances of the ion pairs (R c ) was calculated to be 17.94 Å by the quenching concentration method. And that, the emission colors of the NSPO:Tb 3+ ,Eu 3+ phosphors could be adjusted from green through yellow to red because of the energy transfer from Tb 3+ to Eu 3+ . Based on its good photoluminescence properties and abundant emission colors, the NSPO:Ce 3+ /Tb 3+ /Eu 3+ phosphors might be promising as potential candidates for solid-state lighting and display fields.