Preparation, characterization, and luminescence of Eu3+-doped gadolinium tungstate, Y3Al5O12:Ce phosphor, and their mixtures

[Display omitted] ► Eu3+-doped gadolinium tungstate phosphors have been successfully synthesized. ► 40mol% Eu3+ doped Gd6WO12:Eu3+excited by blue light shows excellent red emission. ► The blended phosphors mixed YAG:Ce with Gd6WO12:Eu3+ show white light with warm tune. ► The blended phosphors could increase the color-rendering properties of white LEDs. A co-precipitation method was employed to prepare Eu3+-doped gadolinium tungstate and Y3Al5O12:Ce fluorescent powders. Eu3+-doped gadolinium tungstate phosphors can be effectively excited both by ultraviolet light at 395nm and blue light at 465nm and emit remarkably intense red emission at 613nm with near line spectrum. Ce3+-doped YAG can also efficiently absorb this blue light and produce a broad band of luminescence centering at 540nm. The red fluorescent powder and yellow fluorescent phosphor were then mixed together at different weight ratios. It is found that the emission spectra of the blended phosphors excited with blue light at 465nm is the superposition of the two phosphors, which means that the mixture’s emission can be tuned by controlling the weight ratios. These results demonstrated the possibility of using the blended phosphors to increase the color-rendering properties of white LEDs.