Synthesis and photoluminescence studies of Ba(Gd, Ln)B9O16:Eu3+ (Ln=La,Y) phosphors for n-UV LED lighting and display devices

BaGdB9O16:Eu3+ and Ba(Gd, Ln)B9O16:Eu3+ (Ln=La,Y) phosphors were synthesized by solid state diffusion method. The X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoluminescence properties were investigated. The as-synthesized BaGdB9O16: Eu3+ and Ba(Gd, Ln) B9O16: Eu3+ (Ln= La, Y) phosphors showed strong red emission under ultraviolet light excitation. By partially substituting Gd3+ by La3+ and Y3+ ions in the host BaGdB9O16:Eu3+ materials, the maximum emission intensity was observed for the optimum composition of BaGd0.91La0.8B9O16Eu0.01 phosphor. The experimental results indicated that the Eu doped BaGdB9O16 and Ba(Gd, Ln) B9O16 (Ln= La, Y) phosphors were promising red phosphors, which might find potential applications in near-UV excited LED lighting as well as display devices. Comparison of as-synthesized phosphors with standard phosphor used in CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) was also done. Energy transfer mechanism of Gd3+ to Eu3+ was also discussed in this paper.