Tunable luminescence and energy transfer behavior of Ba3La6(SiO4)6: Er3+/Eu3+ phosphors for solid-state lighting

The Er3+ and Eu3+ single- and co-doped Ba3La6(SiO4)(6) (BLSO) phosphors with tunable emission properties were prepared by a citric acid-based sol-gel method. The crystal structure, purity, surface morphology and luminescence properties of the phosphors samples were investigated systematically by X-ray diffraction patterns, scanning electron microscope images, and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, respectively. The prepared BLSO phosphors showed pure hexagonal crystal structure with a space group of P6(3)/m (176) and exhibited agglomerated surface morphology. Possibly, the energy migration mechanism from Er3+ to Eu3+ ions was explored and it was further confirmed by determining the PL decay lifetime values of the corresponding co-doped phosphor materials. The Er3+ and Eu3+ single-doped BLSO phosphors showed green and red emissions under 380 and 394 nm excitations, respectively. Additionally, the energy transfer efficiency was calculated, which was around 63.4% at 0.2 mM of Eu3+ ion concentration. Moreover, the thermal stability fo the optimized single- and co-doped phosphors thermal stability was evaluated at different emission wavelengths. The obtained results indicate that the BLSO phosphors could be potentially used in solid-state lighting applications.