Preparation of YAG:Ce spheroidal phase-pure particles by solvo-thermal method and their photoluminescence

Cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG:Ce) powder was synthesized by a solvo-thermal method under mild conditions with inexpensive aluminum and yttrium nitrates as the starting materials and the ethylenediamine (EDA) solution as the solvent. The formation of YAG:Ce was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques and FT-IR spectra. The pure YAG crystalline phase was formed after solvo-thermal treatment at 200 °C for 5 h and no intermediate phase was observed. Transmission electronic microscope (TEM) and scanning electronic microscope (SEM) images showed that the resultant YAG:Ce powders were basically spherical and well dispersed. The sizes of the grains were in the range of 200–260 nm. The photoluminescence spectrum of the crystalline YAG:Ce phosphors showed the green-yellow emission with 5d → 4f transition was the most prominent, and the excitation and emission intensities enhanced with prolonging the holding time.