Effect of boron substitution on the preparation and luminescence of Eu2+ doped strontium aluminates

A series of monoclinic strontium aluminates, SrAl2-xBxO4:Eu2+ (0 < x < 0.3), were prepared by a solid state reaction. The effect of boron on the preparation, structure and luminescence was studied by thermoanalytical, X-ray powder diffraction (XPD), UV excited as well as thermoluminescence (TL) methods. Boron decreased clearly the reaction threshold temperature but concentration was not found important. Boron decreased also the amount of impurities. The monoclinic structure remained the same irrespective of the boron content. No AI-B solid solution was formed. The luminescence band position, shape, and width were not changed as a function of the boron content. The UV excited luminescence intensity was enhanced but persistent luminescence suppressed when the boron concentration increased. The thermoluminescence peak shifted slightly towards lower temperatures and the TL intensity was suppressed by increasing boron concentration maybe due to the modification of trap concentration and depth. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.