Luminescence performance and energy transfer mechanism investigation of RE3+ (Eu3+/Tb3+/Ce3+)-doped Y2O3 phosphors

Y2O3:Eu3+,Tb3+,Ce3+ phosphors were prepared by the co-precipitation method and the optimal component formulations of the samples were determined by a combination of controlled variable method and orthogonal experiments. The experimental results show that doping with appropriate amounts of Tb3+ and Ce3+ significantly improved the luminescence performance of Y2O3:Eu3+ phosphors. In the Y2O3:Eu3+,Tb3+,Ce3+ phosphors system, Tb3+ could be used as a carrier to transfer energy for Ce3+-Eu3+, eliminating the presence of metal-metal charge transfer (MMCT) between the two ions. The direction of energy transfer which is from Ce3+ -> Tb3+ -> Eu3+ has been confirmed by emission spectrum and calculation results show that the mechanism of Tb3+ to Eu3+ energy transfer and Ce3+ to Tb3+ energy transfer in Y2O3 matrix are both quaternary-quaternary interactions. As the doping concentration of Tb3+ and Ce3+ increases, the emission peak position of phosphor was shifted toward the blue region. Their structure and micromorphology have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, the test results show that ion doping does not cause changes in the crystal structure of Y2O3 and the samples are approximately spherical in shape. This work provides a new idea to study the UV detection and multi-ion inter-energy transfer model.

Automated summary

Y2O3:Eu3+,Tb3+,Ce3+ phosphors were prepared using the co-precipitation method, and the luminescence performance was significantly improved by doping with appropriate amounts of Tb3+ and Ce3+. The study also revealed that Tb3+ could act as a carrier to transfer energy for Ce3+-Eu3+, eliminating metal-metal charge transfer. Moreover, the emission peak position of the phosphor shifted towards the blue region with increasing doping concentration of Tb3+ and Ce3+.