Solution combustion synthesis and enhanced luminescence of Eu3+-activated Y2Ce2O7 phosphor nanopowders

Abstract

The rare earth Eu3+-activated yttria–ceria Y2Ce2O7 phosphor nanopowders were prepared by a rapid solution combustion reaction and subsequent sintering process. All the Eu3+-doped samples have cubic fluorite phase and exhibit predominant 5D0–7F2 transition emission when excited at 467nm, which are quite similar with that of Eu3+-doped CeO2. The average grain sizes of the composite are around 40nm, and almost all the particles are seriously melt together without the addition of surfactant. However, with the addition of certain amount of surfactant polyethylene glycol (PEG) in the combustion reaction, the well-dispersed particles with round shapes are obtained and the relative emission intensity of the samples is greatly enhanced. Under the same Eu doping concentration (0.15) and excitation wavelength (467nm), the relative emission intensity of the composite without the addition of PEG is almost 4-fold of Eu3+-doped CeO2. Assisted with PEG, the relative emission intensity of Eu3+-doped Y2Ce2O7 is further enhanced and reaches more than 6.5-fold as compared with Eu3+-doped CeO2. The improved particle morphology and enhanced emission intensity for Eu3+-activated Y2Ce2O7 phosphor nanopowders are quite beneficial for their applications in solid state lighting fields.