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Photo- and cathodo-luminescence properties of (Lu, Gd)2O3: Ce3+, Tb3+ phosphors prepared by sol–gel method

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Abstract

(Lu, Gd)2O3: Ce3+, Tb3+ phosphors with different Ce3+ and Tb3+ contents were prepared by sol–gel method using citric acid as a chelating agent. The effects of Ce3+/Tb3+ doping concentration on the crystal structure and photo-/cathodo-luminescence properties of the phosphors were investigated. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the samples shows that the synthesized phosphors are well-crystallized and display a pure Lu2O3 phase, indicating the successful formation of (Lu, Gd)2O3 solid solution host. The phosphors show approximately spherical morphology, uniform distribution of particle size and elements. Upon the excitation of ultra-violet light, the photoluminescence spectra of the phosphors with different Ce3+ doping concentrations consist of four emission peaks, which correspond to the 5D4 → 7FJ (J = 6, 5, 4, and 3) transitions of Tb3+ ions, respectively. The photoluminescence spectra of the phosphors with different Tb3+ doping concentrations consist of five emission peaks, which correspond to the 5D3 → 7F4 and 5D4 → 7FJ (J = 6, 5, 4, and 3) transitions of Tb3+ ions, respectively. Upon the excitation of cathode ray, the (Lu, Gd)2O3: Ce3+, Tb3+ phosphors exhibit luminescence spectra similar to that of the samples excited by ultra-violet light and a color-tunable luminescence property. In addition, the energy transfer mechanism between Ce3+ and Tb3+ ion is also discussed.

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  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, 130022, China

    Nengli Wang

  2. Engineering Research Center of Optoelectronic Functional Materials, Ministry of Education, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, 130022, China

    Nengli Wang

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Wang, N. Photo- and cathodo-luminescence properties of (Lu, Gd)2O3: Ce3+, Tb3+ phosphors prepared by sol–gel method. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 2048 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-11353-2

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