Photoluminescence properties and effect of Bi~（3＋） dopant of Eu~（3＋） and Dy~（3＋） co-doped Sr_3V_2O_8

Photoluminescence properties of Sr 2.5 Dy 1/3-x Eu x V 2 O 8(x=0,0.06,0.12,0.18,0.24,0.33) were investigated.The excitation spectra included a broad band in the short wavelength region and several sharp lines in the longer wavelength region,and the spectral origin were discussed.The emission spectra were measured in two different exciting ways,i.e.,exciting the VO 4 group at 270 nm and the Eu 3+ ion at 398 nm,respectively,and the energy transferring process was reasonably suggested.Furthermore,multi-color emission could be achieved in Sr 2.5 Dy 1/3-x Eu x V 2 O 8,indicating that the studied samples had potential applications in the white light emitting diodes.Further investigation showed that reducing the concentration of Eu 3+ and Dy 3+ and introducing Bi 3+ as a sensitizer ion greatly enhanced the emission intensity.     

Energy transfer and luminescent properties of Pr^3＋ and/or Dy^3＋ doped NaYF4 and NaGdF4

The phosphors that are able to convert vacuum ultraviolet（VUV） light into visible light are demanded for the development of novel displaying and lighting devices.NaYF4：Pr3＋,Dy3＋,NaGdF4：Pr3＋,NaGdF4：Dy3＋and NaGdF4：Pr3＋,Dy3＋were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis method and their luminescent properties in VUV-vis spectral region were investigated at room temperature.For NaYF4：Pr3＋,Dy3＋,no energy transfer process from Pr3＋to Dy3＋was observed.However,the introduction of Gd3＋into the fluoride lattice led to intense Dy3＋emissions upon Pr3＋4f5d state excitation.Gd3＋acted as an intermediate,resulting in efficient energy transfer from Pr3＋to Dy3＋in NaGdF4.Pr3＋transferred most of its energy to Gd3＋,and then the energy was transferred from Gd3＋to Dy3＋.So NaGdF4：Pr3＋,Dy3＋not only took full advantage of the intense Pr3＋4f5d absorption,but converted the VUV excitation light into the near-white emission of Dy3＋.     

Synthesis and thermoluminescence properties of rare earth oxides （Y, Ce-Lu） doped lithium triborate

Lithium triborate (LiB3O5) was synthesized by high temperature solid-state reaction method, and then rare earth oxides were doped into LiB3O5 to enhance its thermoluminescent (TL) properties. The identification and characteristics of the obtained compounds were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses, differential thermal analyses (DTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The glow curves were obtained using a thermoluminescent (TL) reader. The results revealed that all the rare earth oxides were not good activators for lithium triborate and the obtained compounds could not be used for dosimetric applications.     

Effect of solvent on luminescence properties of re-dispersible LaF3：Ln3＋ （Ln3＋=Eu3＋, Dy3＋, Sm3＋ and Tb3＋） nanoparticles

LaF3:Ln3+(Eu3+,Dy3+,Sm3+ and Tb3+) nanoparticles were prepared in different solvents such as water,EG(ethylene glycol),DMSO(dimethyl sulfoxide) and their mixed solvents at a relatively low temperature of 150 oC by simple chemical route.All the prepared samples showed hexagonal phase and exhibited spherical morphology.The highest luminescence intensity was observed for the samples prepared in EG than the samples prepared in other solvents.However,the sample prepared in water showed anomalously higher luminescence intensity than that of the sample prepared in DMSO.     

Effect of trivalent rare earth ions doping on the fluorescence properties of electron trapping materials SrS：Eu~（2＋）

Trivalent rare-earth ions (La3+,Pr3+,Nd3+,Sm3+,Gd3+,Tb3+,Dy3+,Ho3+,Er3+,Tm3+,and Yb3+) were investigated as the codoped auxiliary sensitizer for the electron trapping materials SrS:Eu2+ in order to enhance the fluorescence properties.It was found that Sm3+ and Tb3+ had the best photoluminescence stimulated luminescence (PSL) effect among the selected trivalent rare-earth ions.All the SrS:Eu2+ samples doped by different trivalent rare-earth ions could be stimulated by 980 nm laser after being exposed to the conventional sunlight,and they emitted PSL with the peak located at 615 nm.The result also indicated that some co-doped rare earth ions could increase fluorescence intensities of the traditional electron trapping materials SrS:Eu2+.     

Photoluminescence enhancement of YAG：Ce~（3＋） phosphor prepared by co-precipitation-rheological phase method

YAG:Ce3+ phosphor was prepared by a novel co-precipitation-rheological phase method.The resulting YAG:Ce3+ phosphor was characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and photoluminescent emission spectra.By using acetic acid as solvent,YAG:Ce3+ powder with small particle size(≤2 μm) was obtained at a relatively lower sintering temperature of 1400 oC.With the content of acetic acid increasing,small particles dissolved and disappeared,but larger particles grew up and changed its shape from spherical to partially rectangular.Meanwhile,the emission intensity of the sample prepared by co-precipitation-rheological phase method was about 43% higher than that of the sample prepared by co-precipitation method.It was assumed that the significant improvement of luminescence was mainly because the rheological phase presented a better diffusion environment,and therefore,a better homogeneity of activators of Ce3+.     

Investigations on structure and proton diffusion coefficient of rare earth ion （Y^3＋/Nd^3＋） and aluminum codoped α-Ni（OH）2

Rare earth ion （Nd^3＋/Y^3＋） and Al^3＋ codoped α-Ni（OH）2 powers were synthesized by chemical coprecipitation method. The structttre was analyzed with X-ray diffraction （XRD） and thermal gravity （TG）. Cyclic voltammetry （CV） tests were performed to evaluate the proton diffusion coefficients of the samples. The results indicated that codoping of Y-Al and Nd-Al resulted in more water molecules contained within the crystal lattice and accordingly increased the interlayer spacing. In particular, the Y-Al codoped α-Ni（OH）2 showed a turbostratic structure. The calculated diffusion coefficients of the Y-Al codoped α-Ni（OH）2 and Nd-Al codoped α-Ni（OH）2 were 3.5×10^-10cm^2/s and 2.8× 10^-10 cm^2/s, respectively.     

Enhancing the performance of photovoltaic cells by using down-converting KCaGd（PO_4）_2：Eu~（3＋） phosphors

The goal of this work is aimed to improve the power conversion efficiency of single crystalline silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) cells by using the solar spectral conversion principle, which employed a down-converting phosphor to convert a high-energy ultraviolet photon to the less energetic red-emitting photons to improve the spectral response of Si solar cells. In this study, the surface of silicon solar cells was coated with a red-emitting KCaGd(PO4)2:Eu3+ phosphor by using the screen-printing technique. In addition to the investigation on the microstructure using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we measured the short circuit current (Isc), open circuit voltage (Voc), and power conversion efficiency (η) of spectral-conversion cells and compared with those of bare solar cells as a reference. Preliminary experimental results revealed that in an optimized PV cell, an enhancement of (0.64+0.01)% (from 16.03% to 16.67%) in Δη of a Si-based PV cell was achieved.     

Photoluminescence properties of nanosized strontium-yttrium borate phosphor Sr3Y2（BO3）4：Eu^3＋ obtained by the sol-gel Pechini method

Mixed strontium-yttrium borate phosphor Sr3Y2(BO3) 4 doped with Eu3+ ions was obtained by the sol-gel Pechini method.Crystal structure of the synthesized compound was analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction.Optimal conditions for the synthesis were found.Photo-physical properties of the phosphor samples were investigated by collecting excitation and luminescence spectra as well as measuring lumi-nescence lifetime.Judd-Ofelt analysis showed that Eu3+ ions occupied Y3+ sites in the crystalline network.The studied compound showed a red emission with the quantum yield of 54%-55% and can be potentially used as phosphor for plasma display panels and luminescent tubes.     

Enhancement of 1.54 μm emission in Er：LiNbO_3 crystal by codoping with Zn~（2＋） ions

The enhanced intensity and lengthened lifetime of 1.54 μm emission were observed for Er:LiNbO3 crystal codoped with Zn2+ ions.The ZnO codoping led to the reduction of the green upconversion emission in Er:LiNbO3 crystals.The decay trace of the 4S3/2→4I15/2 was ob-viously nonexponential for Er:LiNbO3 codoped with 0 and 3 mol.% ZnO,but became exponential for one codoped with 6 mol.% ZnO.The OH-absorption spectra showed after codoping with Zn2+ ions,the OH-absorption peaking position shifted from ~3495 to 3484 cm-1,and the absorption cross section decreased.These spectroscopic characteristics suggested that the improvement of 1.54 μm emission was attributed to the reduction of Er3+ cluster sites.     

Photoluminescent properties of Ca2Gd8（SiO4）6O2： Dy^3＋ phosphor films prepared by sol-gel process

There are growing interests on phosphor thin films owing to their potential application in high-resolution devices such as cathode ray tubes and flat panel display devices. The solution-based sol-gel method is one of the most important techniques for the synthesis of various functional coating films. Compounds with the apatite structure are very suitable host lattices for various luminescent ions. Ca2RE8（SiO4）6O2 （ RE=Y, Gd, La ） is a kind of ternary rare-earth-metal silicate with oxyapatite structure, which has been used as host material for the luminescence of various rare earth and mercury-like ions. In this article, Ca2Gd8（SiO4）6O2：Dy^3＋phosphor films were dip-coated on quartz glass substrates through the sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction （XRD）, atomic force microscopy （AFM）, photoluminescence （PL） spectra, as well as lifetimes were used to characterize the resulting films. AFM study revealed that the phosphor films consisted of homogeneous particles. The Dy^3＋ showed its characteristic emission in crystalline phosphor films, i.e., ^4F9/2-^6H15/2 and ^4F9/2-^6H13/2.