Facile fabrication of novel europium doped strontium yttrate (SrY2O4:Eu3+) electrospun nanofibers for flexible display applications

Abstract

Novel europium doped strontium yttrate (SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ ) nanofibers have been firstly synthesized by electrospinning. SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers have been systematically examined at different calcination temperatures. The TGA study reveals the thermal behaviour of SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers which stabilises at 900⁰C. SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers have an average diameter of 328 nm before calcination and 162 nm post calcination. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers revealed the orthorhombic phase with Pnam space group. The ionic radii and charge compensation have significant effect on the XRD and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers. PL spectra was observed under 395 nm excitation and a strong emission line spotted at 612 nm is attributed to characteristic electric dipole transition 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 of Eu 3+ ion. Effect of dopant concentration on PL of host SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers have also been explored. SrY 2 O 4 nanofibers doped with 10 mol% of Eu 3+ ions exhibit optimum emission intensity while concentration quenching is observed for higher dopant concentration. The SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers show affirmative agreement with SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ bulk counterpart. The CIE coordinates for SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers appear in red region with good colour purity. SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers possess inherent luminescence property which makes it potential candidate for flexible display applications. • Fabrication of novel SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers first time by electrospinning technique • SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers manifest uniform continuity with an average diameter 162 nm • SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers manifest remarkable emission in red region upon UV excitation • Ionic radii and charge compensation lead to substitution of Y 3+ ions by Eu 3+ ions • SrY 2 O 4: Eu 3+ nanofibers exhibit intrinsic luminescence property within fiber itself for flexible display application.