Bioinspired Design of SrAl2O4:Eu2+ Phosphor

A phosphor based on Sr0.97Al2O4:Eu-0.03 with a biomorphous morphology is manufactured via vacuum assisted infiltration of wood tissue (Pinus sylvestris) with a precursor nitrate solution. The nitrate solution penetrates homogeneously into the uniform arrangement of rectangular shaped tracheidal cells of the wood tissue. According to scanning electron microscopy, the original wood cell walls are completely transformed retaining the original wood structure. The major crystalline phase is monoclinic SrAl2O4, detected by X-ray diffraction and confirmed by Rietveld refinement. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis proves the homogeneous conversion of the original wood cell wall into Sr0.97Al2O4:Eu-0.03 struts. The optical properties of the resulting phosphor material are determined by photoluminescence and cathode-luminescence spectroscopy in scanning electron microscopy. The biotemplated Sr0.97Al2O4:Eu-0.03 shows a characteristic green emission at 530 nm (2.34eV). Shaping biomorphous SrAl2O4:Eu2+ phosphor with a microstructure pseudomorphous to the bioorganic template anatomy offers a novel approach for designing micropatterned phosphor materials.