Structural and luminescent properties of Eu2+ and Nd3+-doped mixed alkaline earth aluminates prepared by the sol-gel method

Alkaline earth aluminates with the overall nominal compositions Mg0.5Sr0.5Al2O4 (MSA), Ca0.5Mg0.5Al2O4 (CMA) and Ca0.5Sr0.5Al2O4 (CSA) doped with 0.5 mol% of Eu2+ and 0.25 mol% of Nd3+ ions were obtained by a modified aqueous sol-gel method and annealed in a reducing atmosphere at 900, 1000, 1100 and 1300 °C. The sample structures were investigated by XRD. Solid solubility was only confirmed for the CSA samples. UV-excited luminescence was observed in the blue region (λ = 440 nm) in the samples of CMA containing the monoclinic CaAl2O4 phase and in the green region (λ = 512 nm) in the samples of MSA containing hexagonal or monoclinic phases of SrAl2O4. The CSA samples, besides the blue region, exhibited an extended shoulder in the green region, which proved the existence of some pure strontium phases. Co-doped Nd3+ ions did not affect the wavelength of the emitted light, but the persistent luminescence at room temperature was greatly extended with respect to the aluminates doped with Eu2+ ions only.