Luminescence studies on Al4B2O9:Eu2+ phosphor crystals

A novel blue-emitting phosphor, Eu2+-doping Al4B2O9, was prepared via a modified solid-state reaction. Al4B2O9:Eu2+ nanoparticles with diameters varying in a range from 20 to 50 nm were obtained using urea as an auxiliary reagent at the optimum temperature of 850 degrees C. The crystallization and particle sizes of Al4B2O9:Eu2+ were investigated using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Photoluminescence (PL) results showed that Al4B2O9:Eu2+ phosphor could be efficiently excited by the ultraviolet region from 240 to 410 nm, exhibiting bright blue emission. Further investigation on concentration-dependent emission spectra indicated that the Al3.997B2O9:Eu-0.003(2+) phosphor exhibited the strongest luminescent, and the relative PL intensity decreased with increasing Eu2+ concentration due to concentration quenching. In addition, the concentration quenching for the one-Eu-site emission centers was caused by the electric multipolemultipole interaction. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.