Luminescent properties of Eu2+-doped BaGdF5 glass ceramics a potential blue phosphor for ultra-violet light-emitting diode

Abstract

Eu2+ doped transparent oxyfluoride glass ceramics containing BaGdF5 nanocrystals were successfully fabricated by melt-quenching technique under a reductive atmosphere. The structure of the glass and glass ceramics were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The luminescent properties were investigated by transmission, excitation, and emission spectra. The decay time of the Gd3+ ions at 312 nm excited with 275 nm were also investigated. The results of XRD and TEM indicated the existence of BaGdF5 nanocrystals in the transparent glass ceramics. The excitation spectra of Eu2+ doped glass ceramics showed an excellent overlap with the main emission region of an ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV-LED). Compared with the as-made glass, the emission of glass ceramics is much stronger by a factor of increasing energy transfer efficiency from Gd3+ to Eu2+ ions, the energy transfer efficiency from Gd3+ to Eu2+ ions was discussed. In addition, the chromaticity coordinates of glass and glass ceramics specimens were also discussed, which indicated that the Eu2+ doped BaGdF5 glass ceramics may be used as a potential blue-emitting phosphor for UV-LED.