Preparation of Y 2O 3:Ce 3+ phosphors by homogeneous precipitation inside bicontinuous cubic phase

Abstract

Yttrium oxide doped with cerium (Y 2O 3:Ce 3+) blue emitting phosphors was prepared by a new method called the bicontinuous cubic phase (BCP) method. The experimental results showed that the prepared precursors were amorphous yttrium hydroxide with a spherical shape and primary size 30–50 nm. After heat treatment, high crystallinity and luminescence efficiency phosphors were obtained. The obtained Y 2O 3:Ce 3+ phosphors had a strong blue emitting at 400 nm. The optimum Ce 3+ concentration was 1 mol% to obtain the highest PL intensity. This study indicated that the calcining temperature of 700 °C needed for high luminescence efficiency in this work is much lower than 1000 °C or above needed for the conventional solid-state method.