Integrated chemical process for exothermic wave synthesis of high luminance YAG:Ce phosphors

In this paper, high-luminance yellow-emitting Y 3Al 5O 12:Ce 3+ phosphor (YAG:Ce) microparticles were prepared in a solid flame using a 1.425Y 2O 3+2.5Al 2O 3+0.15CeO 2+ k(KClO 3+urea)+ mNH 4F precursor mixture (here k is the number of moles of the KClO 3+urea red-ox mixture, and m is the number of moles of NH 4F). The self-sustaining combustion process for the entire reaction sample was provided by the heat generated from the KClO 3+urea mixture. Parametric studies demonstrated that the maximum temperature in the combustion wave varied from 885 to 1200 °C for k=2.0–3.0 mole and m=0–1.5 mole. X-ray analysis results showed that the product obtained in the solid flame consisted of Y 3Al 5O 12:Ce 3+ and KCl phases. Therefore, after dissolving potassium chloride in distillated water, pure-phase YAG:Ce phosphor powder was obtained. The as-prepared YAG:Ce phosphor particles had diameters of 10–25 μm and good dispersity and exhibited luminescence properties comparable to those of YAG:Ce phosphor powders prepared by conventional high-temperature processing. ► A new solid-flame strategy was developed for synthesizing high-luminance YAG:Ce phosphor. ► Adding KClO 3+CO(NH 2) 2+NH 4F mixture to oxide powders provides a low-temperature combustion process. ► YAG:Ce phosphor particles 10–25 μm in diameter were obtained at 1000–1100 °C within tens of seconds. ► As-prepared YAG:Ce emission intensity was 90.1–103.2% compared to that of the reference sample.