Synthesis and spectral properties of Ce[Ag(CN)2]3

Cerium ion luminescence in crystalline hosts forms the basis of many blue phosphor and scintillator technologies. We report the synthesis of luminescent single crystals of cerium dicyanoargentate. The luminescence properties are characterized using both steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy. The broad, overlapping dicyanoargentate and Ce3+ emissions are decomposed into three Gaussians, revealing the characteristic dicyanoargentate emission at 350 nm while the Ce3+ 5d–4f transitions are observed at 359 nm and 391 nm. Excitation measurements show that the 4f–5d Ce3+ absorption overlaps the 320 nm emission of the dicyanoargentate ions, leading to a strong coupling between the dicyanoargentate energy donors and Ce3+ acceptors. We conclude that the cerium is excited through an energy transfer process from the dicyanoargentate species, resulting in strong room temperature luminescence.