Red and Yellow Luminescence of Eu3+/Dy3+ Co-Doped Hydroxyapatite/β-Tricalcium Phosphate Single Phosphors Synthesized Using Coprecipitation Method

This paper reports the first attempt at the synthesis of single phosphors of europium (Eu3+) and dysprosium (Dy3+) co-doped hydroxyapatite (HA)/β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) nanostructures providing strong red and yellow luminescence depending on annealing temperature and holding time. The morphology of the phosphors was observed to have a nanowire structure. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the phosphors increases with annealing temperature and time. The luminescent phosphors also showed the typical luminescence of Eu3+ centered at 610 nm and Dy3+ centered at 572 nm, which was more efficient for the annealed Eu3+/Dy3+ co-doped HA/TCP phosphors than for as-synthesized ones. These results suggest that the Eu3+ and Dy3+ co-doped HA/TCP nanostructures can find potential application in plant cultivation as environment friendly phosphors.