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Structural and spectroscopic behaviour of Eu3+-doped SrGd2O4 modified by thermal treatments

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Abstract

Herein, SrGd2O4:Eu3+ phosphors were synthesized by homogeneous precipitation method followed by combustion process. With an increase in processing temperature from 800 to 1200 °C, these phosphors showed a systematic change from a mixed low crystalline phase to a highly crystalline single phase. The samples, annealed at 1200 °C, were crystallized into orthorhombic phase without any impurities. Microscopic studies revealed the irregular morphology of the obtained phosphor particles having sizes in the range of 0.5–5 μm. UV-excited phosphors exhibited strong red emissions owing to the homogeneous occupation of Eu3+ ions in the host. With the enhancement in Eu3+ concentrations up to 4 mol%, the emission intensity was observed to increase systemically, and decreased above 4 mol% owing to the concentration quenching. The critical distance for the quenching mechanism was calculated to be 17.11 Å suggesting multipolar interactions between Eu3+ ions. The dominant red-to-orange intensity ratios (2.59) and Judd–Ofelt parameters of Eu3+ ions supported the strong covalent nature and site-occupation of higher asymmetry sites of Gd3+ ions. The red colour purity was increased with Eu3+ concentration and obtained to be 95 % for SrGd2O4:4 mol% Eu3+ sample. Efficient red emission with high colour purity and elevated chemical durability indicated the suitability of SrGd2O4:Eu3+ phosphor for display applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support from ISM research scholars, funding from Government of India. The authors are grateful to Dr. S. K. Sharma, Department of Applied Physics, ISM Dhanbad for PL and Diffuse Reflectance studies. The authors are also thankful to Prof. A. Subrahmanyam and Deepak Kumar, Department of Physics, IIT Madras for their kind support. The support from Dr. Subrata Das, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan is also acknowledged.

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  1. Department of Applied Physics, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, 826004, India

    Jyoti Singh & J. Manam

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Singh, J., Manam, J. Structural and spectroscopic behaviour of Eu3+-doped SrGd2O4 modified by thermal treatments. J Mater Sci 51, 2886–2901 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9597-5

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