Photoluminescence properties and energy transfer behavior of Eu2+/Tb3+ co-doped Ba3Sc(PO4)3 phosphors

Ba3Sc(PO4)3:Eu2+,Tb3+ (BSP:Eu2+,Tb3+) phosphors were successfully prepared via conventional high-temperature solid-state reaction, their luminescence properties as well as energy transfer mechanism have been investigated in detail. The energy transfer mechanism was proposed to be the dipole–quadrupole mechanism, and the energy transfer efficiency was also estimated. BSP:Eu2+,Tb3+ phosphors showed a broad emitting band centered at 518 nm and several sharp emission peaks, which were assigned to the 5d→4f allowed transitions of Eu2+ ions and characteristic optical 5D4–7FJ (J=6, 5, 4, and 3) transitions of Tb3+ ions, respectively. The emission color of BSP:Eu2+,yTb3+ exhibited a controlled luminescence evolution in the green area owing to the Eu2+–Tb3+ energy transfer process.