Y2O3 : Eu3+ microspheres: Solvothermal synthesis and luminescence properties

Y2O3 : Eu3+ microspheres, with an average diameter of 3 mu m, were successfully prepared through a large-scale and facile solvothermal method followed by a subsequent heat treatment. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectra, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, inductive coupled plasma atomic absorption spectrometric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence spectra, as well kinetic decays, and cathodoluminescence spectra were used to characterize the samples. These microspheres were actually composed of randomly aggregated nanoparticles. The formation mechanisms for the Y2O3 : Eu3+ microspheres have been proposed on an isotropic growth mechanism. The Y2O3 : Eu3+ microspheres show a strong red emission corresponding to D-5(0) -> F-7(2) transition (610 nm) of Eu3+ under ultraviolet excitation (259 nm) and low-voltage electron beams excitation (1-5 kV), which have potential applications in fluorescent lamps and field emission displays.

Luminescence functionalization of SBA-15 by YVO4 : Eu3+ as a novel drug delivery system

Luminescence functionalization of the ordered mesoporous SBA-15 silica was realized by depositing a YVO4:Eu3+ phosphor layer on its surface via the Pechini sol-gel process, resulting in the formation of the YVO4:Eu3+@SBA-15 composite material. This material, which combines the mesoporous structure of SBA-15 and the strong red luminescence property of YVO4:Eu3+, can be used as a novel functional drug delivery system. The structure, morphology, porosity, and optical properties of the materials were well characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N-2 adsorption, and photoluminescence spectra. As expected, the pore volume, surface area, and pore size of SBA-15 decrease in sequence after deposition of the YVO4:Eu3+ layer and the adsorption of ibuprofen (IBU, drug). The IBU-loaded YVO4:Eu3+@SBA-15 system still shows the red emission of Eu3+ (617 nm, D-5(0)-F-7(2)) under UV irradiation and the controlled drug release property. Additionally, the emission intensity of Eu3+ increases with an increase in the cumulative released amount of IBU in the system, making the extent of drug release easily identifiable, trackable, and monitorable by the change of luminescence. The system has great potential in the drug delivery and disease therapy fields.

Tunable luminescence properties of Tb3+-doped LaGaO3 nanocrystalline phosphors

Nanocyrstalline Tb3+-doped LaGaO3 phosphors were prepared through a Pechini-type sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence spectra, and lifetimes were utilized to characterize the synthesized phosphors. XRD results reveal that the sample begins to crystallize at 900 degrees C and pure LaGaO3 phase can be obtained at 1000 degrees C. FESEM images indicate that the Tb3+-doped LaGaO3 phosphors are composed of aggregated spherical particles with sizes ranging from 40 to 80 nm. Under the excitation of ultraviolet light and low-voltage electron beams (0.5-3 kV), the Tb3+-doped LaGaO3 phosphors show the characteristic emissions from the LaGaO3 host lattice and the Tb3+ (D-5(3,4)-F-7(6,5,4,3) transitions). The emission colors of Tb3+-doped LaGaO3 phosphors can be tuned from blue to green by changing the excitation wavelength of ultraviolet light and the doping concentration of Tb3+ to some extent. Relevant luminescence mechanisms are discussed.

Host-sensitized luminescence of Dy3+, Pr3+, Tb3+ in polycrystalline SrIn2O4 for field emission displays

SrIn2O4:Dy3+/Pr3+/Tb3+ white/red/green phosphors were prepared by the Pechini sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), diffuse reflectance, photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence spectra, and lifetimes were utilized to characterize the samples. XRD reveal that the samples begin to crystallize at 800 degrees C and pure SrIn2O4 phase can be obtained at 900 degrees C. FE-SEM images indicate that the SrIn2O4:Dy3+, SrIn2O4:Pr3+, and SrIn2O4:Tb3+ samples consist of fine and spherical grains with size around 200-400 nm. Under the excitation of ultraviolet light and low-voltage electron beams (1 - 5 kV), the SrIn2O4:Dy3+, SrIn2O4: Pr3+, and SrIn2O4: Tb3+ phosphors show the characteristic emissions of Dy3+ (F-4(9/2) - H-6(15/2) at 492 nm and 4F(9/2) - 6H(13/2) at 581 nm, near white), Pr3+ (P-3(0) - H-3(4) at 493 nm, D-1(2) - H-3(4) at 606 nm, and P-3(0) - H-3(6) at 617 nm, red) and Tb3+ (D-5(4) - F-7(6,5,4,3) transitions dominated by D-5(4) - F-7(5) at 544 nm, green), respectively. All of the luminescence resulted from an efficient energy transfer from the SrIn2O4 host lattice to the doped Dy3+, Pr3+, and Tb3+ ions, and the luminescence mechanisms have been proposed.

Synthesis, structure and optical properties of new organic-inorganic haloplumbates complexes (C5H10N3)PbX4 (X = Br, Cl), (C2H2N4)PbBr3

Layered organic-inorganic composite materials (C5H10N3)PbX4 (X = Br 1, Cl 2) containing histaminium dications were grown via a solution-cooling process, and their structure and optical properties were determined. The organic ligand-histaminium introduced into the corner-sharing octahedra of the 'PbX4- layer' contains both primary ammonium and imidazolium different from the traditionally primary amine found in this system. As comparison, another analogous amine of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazol was used as ligand to coordinate with PbBr2 in acid solution. A novel complex (C2H2N4)PbBr3 (3) was obtained with zigzag PbBr2 chains different from the PbX4 layer in compound as 1 and 2. The hybrid (C5H10N3)PbX4 show exciton absorption at 339 nm for X = Cl and 419 nm for X = Br with the corresponding emission at 360 and 436 nm, respectively. The different PbBr2 chain structure of compound 3 does not show photo luminescence.

Host-sensitized luminescence of Dy3+, Pr3+ , Tb3+ in polycrystalline CaIn2O4 for field emission displays

Caln(2)O(4):Dy3+/Pr3+/Tb3+ blue-white/green/green phosphors were prepared by the Pechini sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), diffuse reflectance, photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescencc (CL) spectra as well as lifetimes were utilized to characterize the samples. The XRD results reveal that the samples begin to crystallize at 800 degrees C 3-1 and pure CaIn2O4 phase can be obtained after annealing at 900 degrees C. The FE-SEM images indicate that the CaIn2O4:Dy3+, CaIn2O4:Pr3+ and CaIn2O4:Tb3+ samples consist of spherical grains with size around 200-400nm. Under the excitation of ultraviolet light and low electron beams (1-5kV), the CaIn2O4:Dy3+, CaIn2O4:Pr3+ and CaIn2O4:Tb3+ phosphors show the characteristic emissions of Dy3+ ((F9/2-H15/2)-F-4-H-6 and (F9/2-H13/2)-F-4-H-6 transitions, blue-white), Pr3+ ((P0-H4)-P-3-H-3, (D2-H4)-D-1-H-3 and (P1-H5)-P-3-H-3 transitions, green) and Tb3+ ((D4-F6,5,4,3)-D-5-F-7 transitions, green), respectively. All the luminescence is resulted from an efficient energy transfer from the CaIn2O4 host lattice to the doped Dy3+ ,Pr3+ and Tb3+ ions, and the corresponding luminescence mechanisms have been proposed.

Hydrothermal synthesis of SrCO3 : Eu3+/Tb3+ microneedles and their luminescence properties

SrCO3:Eu3+ /Tb3+ microneedles that grow along the a-axis were successfully prepared through a large-scale and facile hydrothermal method without any template and further annealing treatment. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra as well kinetic decays, were used to characterize the samples. The preferential growth along a-axis for SrCO3:Eu3+/Tb3+ microneedles has been proposed through analysis of the XRD patterns of samples obtained at different hydrothermal treatment time. Under ultraviolet excitation, the SrCO3:Eu3+ and SrCO3:Tb3+ microncedle samples show a strong red and green emission corresponding to the D-5(0)-F-7(j) (J = 1, 2, 3, 4) transitions of Eu3+ and the D-5(4)-(7) F-j (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) transitions of Tb3+, respectively, which have potential applications in lighting fields.

Luminescence properties of Y0.9-xGdxEu0.1Al3(BO3)(4) (0 <= x <= 0.9) phosphors prepared by spray pyrolysis process

Starting from metal nitrate aqueous solutions and H3BO3, Y0.9-xGdxEu0.1Al3(BO3)(4) (0 <= x <= 0.9) phosphors were synthesized by spray pyrolysis followed by annealing at high temperature. The obtained phosphor particles have spherical morphology with size in the range 0.5-2 mu m. Independent of the x values in Y0.9-xGdxEu0.1Al3(BO3)(4) (0 <= x <= 0.9) phosphors, the Eu3+ ion shows its characteristic D-5(0), (1)-F-7(J) (J = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) transitions with D-5(0)-F-7(2) red emission (612 nm) as the most prominent group. The photoluminescence intensity of phosphors increases with the increase of x value in Y0.9-xGdxEu0.1Al3(BO3)(4) (0 <= x <= 0.9) due to an energy migration process like Gd3+-(Gd3+)(n)-Eu3+ that occurred in the host materials.

Enhanced luminescence of gadolinium niobates by Bi3+ doping for field emission displays

Blue emitting GdNbO4: Bi3+ powder phosphors for field emission displays were prepared by a solid state reaction. Both photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence properties of the materials were investigated. GdNbO4 itself shows only a very weak luminescence in the blue spectral region. By doping Bi3+ in GdNbO4, the luminescence intensity was improved greatly. The emission spectrum of the GdNbO4: Bi3+ consists of a broad band with maximum at 445 nm (lifetime = 0.74 mu s; CIE chromaticity coordinates: x = 0.1519 and y = 0. 1196) for both UV and low voltage (1-7 kV) cathode ray excitation. In GdNbO4:Bi3+ phosphors, the energy transfer from NbO43- to activator Bi3+ occurred.

Sol-gel deposition and luminescence properties of LiYF4 : Tb3+ thin films

Tb3+-doped LiYF4 films were deposited on quartz glass by a simple sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), photoluminescence spectra, and lifetimes were used to characterize the resulting films. The results of XRD indicated that the films began to crystallize at 300 degrees C and fully crystallized at 400 degrees C. AFM and FESEM images of singly coated LiY0.95Tb0.05F4 annealed at 400 degrees C indicated that the film is uniform and crack-free films with average grain size of 90 nm, root mean square roughness of 11 nm and thickness of 120 nm. The doped Tb3+ ions showed its characteristic emission in crystalline LiYF4 films, i.e., D-5(3), F--7(4)J (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) emissions. The optimum doping concentration of the Tb3+ was determined to be 5.0 mol% of Y3+ in LiYF4 films.

The luminescence of CaYBO4 : RE3+ (RE=Eu, Gd, Tb, Ce) in VUV-visible region

Phosphors CaYBO4:RE3+ (RE = Eu, Gd, Tb, Ce) were synthesized with the method of solid-state reaction at high temperature, and their vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)-visible luminescent properties in VUV-visible region were studied at 20 K. In CaYBO4, it is confirmed that there are two types of lattice sites that can be substituted by rare-earth ions. The host excitation and emission peaks of undoped CaYBO4 are very weak, which locate at about 175 and 350-360nm, respectively. The existence of Gd3+ can efficiently enhance the utilization of host absorption energy and result in a strong emission line at 314 nm. In CaYBO4, Eu3+ has typical red emission with the strongest peak at 610 nm; Tb3+ shows characteristic green emission, of which the maximum emission peak is located at 542 nm. The charge transfer band of CaYBO4:Eu3+ was observed at 228 nm; the co-doping of Gd3+ and Eu3+ can obviously sensitize the red emission of Eu3+. The fluorescent spectra of CaYBO4:Ce3+ is very weak due to photoionization; the co-addition of Ce3+-Tb3+ can obviously quench the luminescence of Tb3+.

Study on stimulated emission of Eu2+ in crystal KMgF3 : Eu2+

The line emission peak of Eu2+ ion in crystal KMgF3 is at 360 nm. The probability of stimulated emission on 4f(7) (P-6(7/2))-> 4f(7)(S-8(7/2)) transition was predicted with a four-level decay model of Eu2+6P7/2 excited states proposed by the authors. Optic gain and net gain coefficient (g = 11.4 +/- 3.2)cm(-1) of 360 nm emission in crystal KMgF3 : Eu2+ were measured by ASE method, and the predication was proved by experiment. The net gain coefficient can be increased by annealing or doping crystal KMgF3 : Eu2+ with Gd3+ or Ce3+.

Stimulated emission from distyrylbenzene derivative crystals grown by vapor

Narrowed spectra at 452 nm from a thin platelike crystal of distyrylbenzene derivative, 2,5-diphenyl-1,4-distyrylbenzene with two trans double bonds (trans-DPDSB) grown by vapor deposition, are observed. The trans-DPDSB crystal is irradiated by the third harmonic (355 nm) of a Nd:YAG laser. The FWHM of the narrowed spectra can reach 6 nm for the crystal when the pumping energy is 400 mu J/pulse. The threshold value for an optically pumped laser is approximately 350 mu J/pulse.

Synthesis and luminescence properties of nanocrystalline Gd2O3 : Eu3+ by combustion process

The nanocrystalline Gd2O3:Eu3+ powders with cubic phase were prepared by a combustion method in the presence of urea and glycol. The effects of the annealing temperature on the crystallization and luminescence properties were studied. The results of XRD show pure phase can be obtained, the average crystallite size could be calculated as 7, 8, 45, and 23 run for the precursor and samples annealed at 600, 700 and 800 degrees C, respectively, which coincided with the results from TEM images. The emission intensity, host absorption and charge transfer band intensity increased with increasing the temperature. The slightly broad emission peak at 610 nm for smaller particles can be observed. The ratio of host absorption to O-2-Eu3+ charge transfer band of smaller nanoparticles is much stronger compared with that for larger nanoparticles, furthermore, the luminescence lifetimes of nanoparticles increased with increasing particles size. The effects of doping concentration of Eu3+ on luminescence lifetimes and intensities were also discussed. The samples exhibited a higher quenching concentration of Eu3+, and luminescence lifetimes of nanoparticles are related to annealing temperature of samples and the doping concentration of Eu3+ ions.