Luminescence studies on Al4B2O9:Eu2+ phosphor crystals

ABSTRACT A novel blue‐emitting phosphor, Eu2+‐doping Al4B2O9, was prepared via a modified solid‐state reaction. Al4B2O9:Eu2+ nanoparticles with diameters varying in a range from 20 to 50 nm were obtained using urea as an auxiliary reagent at the optimum temperature of 850°C. The crystallization and particle sizes of Al4B2O9:Eu2+ were investigated using powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Photoluminescence (PL) results showed that Al4B2O9:Eu2+ phosphor could be efficiently excited by the ultraviolet region from 240 to 410 nm, exhibiting bright blue emission. Further investigation on concentration‐dependent emission spectra indicated that the Al3.997B2O9:Eu2+0.003 phosphor exhibited the strongest luminescent, and the relative PL intensity decreased with increasing Eu2+ concentration due to concentration quenching. In addition, the concentration quenching for the one‐Eu‐site emission centers was caused by the electric multipole–multipole interaction. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.