Synthesis and characterization of monodisperse spherical core-shell structured SiO2@Y3Al5O12:Ce3+/Tb3+ phosphors for field emission displays

Abstract

Nanocrystalline Y3Al5O12: Ce3+/Tb3+ (average crystalline size 30 nm) phosphor layers were coated on non-aggregated, monodisperse and spherical SiO2 particles by the sol-gel method, resulting in the formation of core-shell structured SiO2@Y3Al5O12:Ce3+/Tb3+ particles. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence spectra, as well as lifetimes were utilized to characterize the core-shell structured SiO2@Y3Al5O12:Ce3+/Tb3+ phosphor particles. The obtained core-shell structured phosphors consist of well-dispersed submicron spherical particles with a narrow size distribution. The thickness of the Y3Al5O12:Ce3+/Tb3+ shells on the SiO2 cores (average size about 500 nm, crystalline size about 30 nm) could be easily tailored by varying the number of deposition cycles (100 nm for four deposition cycles). Under the excitation of ultraviolet and low-voltage electron beams (1–3 kV), the core-shell SiO2@Y3Al5O12:Ce3+/Tb3+ particles show strong yellow-green and green emission corresponding to the 5d–4f emission of Ce3+ and 5D4–7F J (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) emission of Tb3+, respectively. These phosphors may have potential application in field emission displays.