Preparation and luminescence properties of orange-red Ba3Y4O9:Sm3+ phosphors

A novel orange-red emitting Ba₃Y₄O₉:Sm³⁺ phosphors were prepared by a high temperature solid-state reaction in air. X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence spectra, fluorescence decay and temperature-dependent emission spectra were utilized to characterize the structure and luminescence properties. The results show that the excitation spectrum includes a series of linear peaks at 350, 367, 382, 410, 424, 445, 470 and 495 nm, respectively. Under 410 nm excitation, the emission peaks were located at 574 nm (⁴G_5/2—⁶H_5/2), 608 nm (⁴G_5/2—⁶H_7/2), 659 nm (⁴G_5/2—⁶H_9/2) and 722 nm (⁴G_5/2—⁶H_11/2), respectively. The concentration quenching occurs when x equals 0.08 for Ba₃Y_4–xO₉:xSm³⁺ phosphor and its mechanism is ascribed to the dipole–dipole interaction. The chromaticity coordinates of Ba₃Y_3.92O₉:0.08Sm³⁺ phosphor are in the orange-red region. The temperature-dependent study shows that this phosphor has excellent luminescence thermal-stability. And the luminescence intensity of Ba₃Y_3.92O₉:0.08Sm³⁺ phosphor at 473 K only declines by about 25.75% of its initial intensity. The experimental data indicate that Ba₃Y₄O₉:Sm³⁺ phosphor may be promising as an orange-red emitting phosphor for white light emitting diodes.