Crystal growth behavior and fluorescence properties of LaMgAl11O19:Eu3+ nano-powders prepared via sol-gel process

Abstract

LaMgAl11O19:Eu3+ (LMA:Eu3+) nano-powders were prepared via sol-gel process by controlling the amount of ethanol and AcOH in the raw solution. With the addition of ethanol, the activation energy for crystal growth of LMA:Eu3+ nano-powders was decreased from 69.10 ± 3.74 kJ/mol to 57.95 ± 2.62 kJ/mol, while the lowest activation energy of 57.95 ± 2.62 kJ/mol was obtained with the water/ethanol volume ratio of 1:3 and the AcOH/metal ions molar ratio of 1:1. However, there is less influence on the phase composition and microstructure of the powders after adding the organic additives. The LaMgAl11O19:Eu3+ powders exhibit a group of orange-red emission peaks from D05→FJ7 (J = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) of Eu3+ under the excitation of ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 254 nm.