Preparation of Y3Al5O12 : Eu phosphors by citric-gel method and their luminescent properties

By using metal nitrates as starting materials and citric acid as complexing agent, Y3Al5O12 (YAG) and Y3Al5O12:Eu (1 mol%) (YAG:Eu) powder phosphors were prepared by a citrate-gel method. The formation process of YAG and YAG:Eu were investigated by means of XRD, TG-DTA and FT-IR spectra. The purified crystalline phases of YAG and YAG:Eu were obtained at 800 degreesC. The crystalline YAG:Eu phosphors showed an orange-red emission with D-5(0)-F-7(1) (591 nm) as the most prominent group, whose intensity was dependent on the pH value of the starting solution, citric acid content and firing temperature. It has been found that the suitable pH and citric acid/metal ratio are 3 and 2 for obtaining the highest emission intensity, respectively. The emission intensity increases steadily with increasing the annealing temperature from 800 to 1200 degreesC, and nearly remains constant after 1200 degreesC. Furthermore, great differences were observed for the lifetimes and the charge transfer band of Eu3+ in crystalline and amorphous states of YAG.

Multi-color long-lasting phosphorescence in Mn2+-doped ZnO-B2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics

Multi-color LLP phenomenon was observed in Mn2+-doped ZnO-B2O3-SiO2 glassceramics after the irradiation of a UV lamp at room temperature. Transparent ZnO-B2O3-SiO2 glass emitted reddish LLP while opaque glass-ceramics prepared by the glass sample after heat treatment emitted yellowish or greenish LLP. The change of the phosphorescence is due to the alteration of co-ordination state of Mn2+. The phosphorescence of the samples was seen in the dark with naked eyes even 12 h after the irradiation with a UV lamp (lambda(max) = 254 nm) for 30 min. Based on the approximative t(-1) decay law of the phosphorescence, we suggest that the LLP is attributed to the thermally assisted electron-hole recombination.

Mesostructured thin film with covalently grafted europium complex

A mesostructured transparent thin film containing europium complexes was prepared and investigated. The mesostructure of the film was confirmed by XRD and the luminescence spectra reveal that Eu3+ has a similar environment in both amorphous and mesostructured films.

A novel terbium (III) beta-diketonate complex as thin film for optical device application

A novel terbium complex, Tb(acac)(3)AAP (acac: acetylacetone, AAP: 4-amino-antipyrine), was synthesized and its luminescent properties were studied. When it was used as an emitting center, triple-layer-type device with a structure of glass substrate/ITO (indium-tin oxide)/TPD (N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-bis(3-methylphenyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine)./Tb(acac)(3)AAP/PBD (2-(4-biphenyl)-5-(4-t-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole) or Alq(3) (tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum)/Al (aluminum) exhibited bright characteristic emission of terbium ion upon applying d.c. voltage. The maximum luminance of the device is 56 cd/m(2) at 19 V and the maximum luminance efficiency is 0.357 lm/W.

VUV and Eu-L-3 edge XANES spectra of europium-doped strontium tetraborate prepared in air

VUV-UV and Eu-L-3 edge XANES spectra were measured for europium-doped strontium tetraborate prepared by solid state reaction at high temperature in air. The VUV-UV spectra show that the host absorption band of (SrBO7)-O-4 appears below 170 nm. The charge transfer band of Eu3+ doped in SrB4O7 is peaked at 272 nm. The 4f-5d transitions of Eu2+ consist of a band peaked at 310 nm with a shoulder at 280 nm and also include the bands peaked at 238 (weak) and 203 (strong) nm. The result of XANES spectrum at Eu-L3 edge of the synthesized sample indicates that Eu3+ and Eu2+ coexist in SrB4O7:Eu prepared in air, which is consistent with the results of the VUV-UV spectra.

Preparation and characterization of novel luminescent sol-gel films containing a RE3+ carboxylic acid complex

RE3+ (Eu3+, Tb3+) complexes with carboxylic acid (salicylic acid and benzoic acid) were introduced into the sol, which was prepared by the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). A sol-gel luminescent thin film (SG-LTF) was then prepared by dispersing the sol onto a silica substrate by a spin coating method. Multi-layer luminescent thin films were prepared by repeating the same process. The luminescent spectra, fluorescence lifetime and thermal stability of the SG-LTFs were investigated. For the reason of comparison polyvinylbutyral (PVB) was added into a N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solution in which the comparative RE3+ carboxylic acid complexes were previously dissolved to form the DMF/PVB solution and the PVB luminescent thin film (PVB-LTF) was prepared. The results show that a broad excitation band indicates the formation of RE complexes in the solid SG-LTFs. RE ions, which are restrained in the silica matrix, present longer lifetimes and higher thermal stability than that in the PVB-LTF containing the corresponding pure complexes. The different doping concentration of RE (III) complexes in the SG-LTFs and the different change of the emission intensities with the heat treatment temperature in the sol-gel thin film and the sol-gel bulk gel were also discussed in this paper.

A novel way to enhance electroluminescence performance based on soluble binary and ternary europium 1,1,1-trifluoroacetylacetonate

Five rare earth complexes (Gd(acae)(3), Gd(TFacaC)(3), Eu(acaC)(3), Eu(TFacaC)(3) and Eu(TFacaC)(3)bipy; acac, acetylacetone; TFacac, 1,1,1-trifluoroacetylacetone; bipy, 2,2'-bipyridyl) were synthesized. By comparing the phosphorescence spectra of Gd(acac)(3) and Gd(TFacac)(3) the effect of the replacement of hydrogen by fluorine was examined. Organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) based on the corresponding europium complexes as emissive layers were also fabricated by the spin-coating method. The triple-layer-type device with the structure glass substrate/ITO (indium-tin oxide)/PVK [poly(N-vinylcarbazole)]/(PVKEu)-Eu-.(TFacac)(3)bipy:PBD[2-(4-bibipyyl)-5-(4-t-butylbipyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole)]/PBD/Al (aluminum) exhibits a brighter red luminescence than those devices with Eu(acac)(3) and Eu(TFacac)(3) complexes as emissive centers upon applying a d.c. voltage.

Electroluminescence based on a beta-diketonate ternary samarium complex

The triplet energy state of the HTH [HTH: 4,4,5,5,6,6,6-heptafluoro-1-(2-thienyl) hexane-1,3-dione] ligand was measured to be 20 400 cm(-1), which indicated that Sm(HTH)(3) phen (phen: 1,10-phenanthroline) is a good complex to produce strong PL intensity and high fluorescence yield. Electroluminescent (EL) devices using the Sm( HTH) 3 phen complex as the emissive center were fabricated by vapor deposition and spin-coating methods. The relative intensity of the EL spectra changed compared to the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, which suggested that the luminescence mechanisms of PL and EL have differences. A luminance of 9 cd m(-2) and a higher brightness of 21 cd m(-2) were obtained from the devices ITO/TPD (40 nm)/ Sm( HTH)(3) phen (50 nm)/ PBD (30 nm)/ Al (200 nm) and ITO/PVK (40 nm)/ PVK : Sm( HTH)(3) phen (2.5 wt%, 50 nm)/ PBD (30 nm)/ Al (200 nm), respectively.

Application of ionic liquids in organic reactions

Room-temperature ionic liquids are good solvents for a wide of organic, inorganic and organometallic compounds. Typically consisting of nitrogen-containing organic cations and inorganic anions, they are easy to recycle, nonflammable, and have no detectable vapor pressure. More recently, ionic liquids have been found to be excellent solvents for a number of chemical reactions, e. g. hydrogenation, alkylation, epoxidation, Heck-vinylation, Suzuki cross-coupling reactions and enzyme catalyzed organic reactions. This paper focuses on the recent development of using ionic liquids as solvents for transition metal and enzyme catalyzed reactions.

Red electroluminescent device with europium 1,1,1-trifluoroacetylacetonate complex as emissive center

By comparing the phosphorescence spectra of Gd(acac)(3) (acac: acetylacetone) and Gd(TFacac)(3) (TFacac: 1, 1, 1-trifluoro-acetylacetone), the effect of fluorine replacing of hydrogen was discussed. It can lower the triplet state energy of acac and make it more suitable to the D-5(1) energy state of europium. Organic electroluminescent (OEL) devices with corresponding europium complexes as emissive layers were fabricated. A triple laver-type device with a structure of glass substrate/indium-tin oxide (ITO)/poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK)/PVK:Eu(TFacac)(3)phen:2-(4-biphenyl)-5-(4-t-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD)/PBD/Al exhibits bright red luminescence upon applying dc voltage, The device has the properties of a diode and the current-bias voltage line was obtained.

Synthesis and luminescence properties of oxyapatite NaY9Si6O26 doped with Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+ and Pb2+

Oxyapatite NaY9Si6O26 was prepared by sol-gel method. By choosing the precursors, a single phase compound was obtained. This soft chemical method lowered the reaction temperature by 100degreesC compared with the solid state method. Its morphology was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Several rare earth ions (Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+) and Pb2+ ion were doped in this compound. The high resolution emission spectrum of Eu3+ showed that rare earth ions occupied two yttrium sites. In spite of the charge imbalance of Pb2+ with the cations in this compound, it was found that Pb2+ could emit in UV range and transfer its excitation energy to Dy3+ ion.

Sol-gel deposition and luminescent properties of oxyapatite Ca-2(Y,Gd)(8)(SiO4)(6)O-2 phosphor films doped with rare earth and lead ions

Rare-earth and lead ions (Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+, Pb2+) doped Ca2Y8 (SiO4)(6)O-2 and Ca2Gd8(SiO4)(6)O-2 thin films have been dip- coated on silicon and quartz glass substrates through the sol- gel route. X- Ray diffraction (XRD), TG- DTA, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), FT- IR and luminescence excitation and emission spectra as well as luminescence decays were used to characterize the resulting films. The results of XRD reveal that these films remain amorphous below 700 degreesC, begin to crystallize at 800 degreesC and crystallize completely around 1000 degreesC with an oxyapatite structure. The grain structure of the film can be seen clearly from SEM and AFM micrographs, where particles with various shapes and average size of 250 nm can be resolved. Eu3+ and Tb3+ show their characteristic red (D-5(0)-F-7(2)) and green (D-5(4) - F-7(5)) emission in the films with a quenching concentration of 10 and 6 mol% (of Y3+), respectively. The lifetime and emission intensity of Eu3+ increase with the temperature treatment from 700 to 1100 degreesC, while those of Tb3+ show a maximum at 800 degreesC. Energy transfer phenomena have been observed by activating the oxyapatite film host- lattice Ca2Gd8(SiO4)(6)O-2 with Tb3+ (Dy3+). In addition, Pb2+ can sensitize the Gd3+ sublattice in Ca2Gd8(SiO4)(6)O-2.

Long lasting phosphorescence, thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance property of Mn2+ activated ZnO-Al2O3SiO2 ceramic

The long lasting phosphorescence (LLP) phenomenon in Mn2+-doped ceramic based on ZnO-Al2O3-SiO2 (ZASM) is observed. After irradiation by a UVP standard mercury lamp peaking at 254 nm with a power of 0.6 mW/cm(2) for 15 min, the ceramic sample emits a bright green light peaking at 519 nm, which can be seen in the dark even 15 h after the removal of UVP standard mercury lamp by the naked eyes whose limit of light perception is 0.32 mcd/m(2). The initial afterglow intensity reaches about 1900 mcd/m(2), and the color coordinate (X, Y) is (0.2280, 0.5767) at about 10 s after stopping irradiation. The thermoluminescence (TL) spectra show that there are at least three kinds of trap centers with different trap levels while electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra indicate that there are electron- and hole-trapping centers induced after irradiation by a UVP standard mercury lamp. Based on these measurements, the LLP is considered to be due to the recombination of electrons and holes at trapping centers with different levels, which are firstly thermally released back to Mn2+ and then give rise to the bright green LLP at room temperature.

Preparation and luminescence properties of ormosil material doped with Eu(TTA)(3)phen complex

The europium complex, Eu(TTA)(3)phen (TTA = thenoyltrifluoroacetone, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) was successfully doped into organically modified silicate (ormosil) matrix-SiO2/(VTMOS+PMMA) (VTMOS = vinyltrimethoxysilane, PMMA = polymethylmethacrylate) via sol-gel process, and the luminescence properties of the resultant ormosil composite phosphors [ormosil: Eu(TTA)(3)phen were investigated compared with those of the pure Eu(TTA)(3)phen complex powder. The ormosil composite materials incorporated with Eu(TTA)(3)phen show the characteristic red emission of Eu3+ ion. The Eu3+ possesses fewer emission lines and longer lifetime in the hybrid phosphor than in the pure Eu(TTA)(3)phen complex. This has been explained from the viewpoint of the surrounding environment where the Eu3+ ion lies. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Luminescence properties of Eu(phen)(2)Cl-3 doped in sol-gel-derived SiO2-PEG matrix

Rare earth complex Eu(phen)(2)Cl-3 was introduced into a SiO2-PEG-400 hybrid material by a sol-ger method. The result indicated that Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) could associate with Eu3+ and change the surroundings of Eu3+ in the hybrid material, greatly improving the decay time. Transparent SiO2-PEG400 hybrid doped with a very small amount of Eu(phen)(2)Cl-3 has better mechanical properties and can retain excellent luminescence properties of the rare earth complex. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.