Combustion synthesis and photoluminescence of SrAl 2O 4:Eu,Dy phosphor nanoparticles

Abstract

Eu 2+,Dy 3+ co-doped strontium aluminate (SrAl 2O 4) phosphor nanoparticles with high brightness and long afterglow were prepared by glycine–nitrate solution combustion synthesis at 500 °C, followed by heating the resultant combustion ash at 1100 °C in a weak reductive atmosphere of active carbon. The average particle size of the SrAl 2O 4:Eu,Dy phosphor nanoparticles ranges from 15 to 45 nm as indicated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The broad-band UV-excited luminescence of the SrAl 2O 4:Eu,Dy phosphor nanoparticles was observed at λ max =513 nm due to transitions from the 4f 65d 1 to the 4f 7 configuration of the Eu 2+ ion. The results indicated that the main peaks in the emission and excitation spectrum of phosphor nanoparticles shifted to the short wavelength compared with the phosphor obtained by the solid-state reaction synthesis method. The decay speed of the afterglow for phosphor nanoparticles was faster than that obtained by the solid-state reaction method.