Synthesis, Photoluminescent Characteristics and Eu<sup>3+</sup>-Induced Phase Transitions in Sr<sub>3</sub>Zr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub>:Eu<sup>3+</sup> Red Phosphors

oleh: Nianmin Chen, Yunjian Wang, Longfeng Li, Lei Geng, Maolin Zhang

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-04-01

Deskripsi

Designing phosphors that are excited by blue light is extraordinarily important for white light-emitting diodes (w-LEDs). In the present study, a new Ruddlesden–Popper type of SZO:<i>x</i>Eu<sup>3+</sup> (<i>x</i> = 0.01~0.10) phosphors was developed using solid-state reactions. Interestingly, a Eu<sup>3+</sup> doping-induced phase transformation from the Sr<sub>3</sub>Zr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub> (cubic) to the SrZrO<sub>3</sub> (orthorhombic) phase was observed, and the impact of the occupied sites of Eu<sup>3+</sup> ions on the lifetime of Sr<sub>3</sub>Zr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub>:<i>x</i>Eu<sup>3+</sup> phosphors is discussed in detail. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy results showed that the band gap of SZO:<i>x</i>Eu<sup>3+</sup> phosphors gradually increased from 3.48 eV for undoped Sr<sub>3</sub>Zr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub> hosts to 3.67 eV for SZO:0.10Eu<sup>3+</sup> samples. The fluorescence excitation spectrum showed that ultraviolet (300 nm), near-ultraviolet (396 nm) and blue light (464 nm) were all effective excitation pump sources of Sr<sub>3</sub>Zr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub>:<i>x</i>Eu<sup>3+</sup> phosphors, and the strongest emission at 615 nm originated from an electric dipole transition (<sup>5</sup>D<sub>0</sub>→<sup>7</sup>F<sub>2</sub>). CIE coordinates moved from orange (0.5969, 0.4267) to the reddish-orange region (0.6155, 0.3827), and the color purity also increased. The fabricated w-LED was placed on a 460 nm chip with a mixture of YAG:Ce<sup>3+</sup> and SZO:0.1Eu<sup>3+</sup> samples and showed “warm” white light with a color rendering index (CRI) of 81.8 and a correlation color temperature (CCT) of 5386 K, indicating great potential for application in blue chip white LEDs.