Growth and crystal structure of Li3Ba4Sc3B8O22 borate and its Tb3+ doped green-emitting phosphor

A new lithium barium scandium borate (Li3Ba4Sc3B8O22) was obtained by solid-state synthesis and grown by spontaneous crystallization. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis showed that it crystallizes in the centrosymmetric space group P-1 with the cell dimensions a = 5.2230(4) angstrom, b = 8.5609(6) angstrom, c = 11.4157(8) angstrom, alpha = 73.3750(6)degrees, beta = 78.5020(6)degrees, gamma = 87.0520(6)degrees, and V = 479.28(6) angstrom(3) and a structure that consists of two layers formed by single [BO3] and double [B2O5] triangles, [ScO6] octahedra, [BaO9] polyhedra, and disordered [LiO4] tetrahedra or squares. The diffuse optical reflection spectrum indicates that Li3Ba4Sc3B8O22 is transparent in the range of 250-800 nm. Furthermore, an effective green emission centred at 545 nm was observed for the as-prepared Tb3+-doped Li3Ba4Sc3B8O22, making this borate compound a promising host material for engineering light-emitting phosphors.