A novel orange emissive phosphor LaPO4:Bi, Sm with sharp and splitting emission peaks of Sm3+

Bi3+, Sm3+ co-doped La0.99-xBixSm0.01PO4 polycrystalline samples were synthesized by calcining precursors at 800 C in air. The precursors were obtained via low-heating temperature solid-state reactions. Crystal structures of the phosphor were examined with XRD and a pure phase was confirmed. The excitation spectra show that the phosphor can be efficiently excited by near-ultraviolet light, and the optimized concentration of Bi3+ is 0.9 mol%. Three sharp, strong, and splitting emission peaks are located at 562, 596, and 642 nm, corresponding to CIE (Commission International de l'Eclairage) chromaticity coordinates x=0.42 and y=0.39, which indicate the orange light emitting property. So, the phosphor is promising in UV-LED chip-based white light-emitting diodes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.