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Ce3+ and Eu3+ emissions in YAG via a core-shell strategy for warm white LED lighting

  • Brief Communication: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for optical, photonic and optoelectronic applications
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Abstract

YAG:Ce and YAG:Eu sols were synthesized by a polymeric sol-gel route. The crystallization temperature of YAG was determined by X-ray diffraction as a function of the calcination temperature, revealing that YAG starts to crystallize directly from the amorphous phase at 800 °C. The effects of the thermal treatment and the dopant amount on the photoluminescent properties were studied, observing the highest emission after calcination at 1000 °C for 1 h in both cases and with a concentration of 1 and 3 mol% of Ce and Eu, respectively. Core-shell materials were prepared by dipping YAG:Ce or YAG:Eu sintered pellets into the synthesized sols and then, these materials were calcined at 1000 °C for 1 h. An effective energy transfer from Ce to Eu was observed in the sample YAG:Eu (core)–YAG:Ce (shell) when blue light (λ = 465 nm) is used as excitation source. This wavelength excites the Ce but not the Eu; however, in the photoluminescence emission spectrum, the bands associated to both ions can be clearly detected, confirming that the core-shell strategy is a good method for the preparation of warmer white LEDs.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the funding provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation under project no. IZRPZO_164736/1. This work is a part of the 382-PiGnano project of ERA.Net RUS Plus 2013-2018 initiative under Consortium Agreement with ITMO University (Russia), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Switzerland), and Hamburg University of Technology (Germany).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for High Performance Ceramics, Empa, Überlandstrasse 129, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Mario Borlaf & Thomas Graule

  2. AGH University of Science and Technology, al. Mickiewicza 30, 3030-059, Krakow, Poland

    Malgorzata Frankowska & Wladyslaw W. Kubiak

Authors
  1. Mario Borlaf
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  2. Malgorzata Frankowska
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  3. Wladyslaw W. Kubiak
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  4. Thomas Graule
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Correspondence to Mario Borlaf.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Highlights

  • YAG:Ce and YAG:Eu sols were synthesized.

  • Core-shell materials were prepared by dipping YAG:Ce and YAG:Eu pellets into the sols.

  • An efficient energy transfer from Ce to Eu ions was observed in YAG:Eu (core)–YAG:Ce (shell).

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Borlaf, M., Frankowska, M., Kubiak, W.W. et al. Ce3+ and Eu3+ emissions in YAG via a core-shell strategy for warm white LED lighting. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 86, 1–6 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-018-4615-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-018-4615-0

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