Sol–gel synthesis and investigation of un-doped and Ce-doped strontium aluminates

The preparation of various strontium aluminates including SrAl2O4 (SrO–Al2O3), Sr3Al2O6 (3SrO–Al2O3), and Sr4Al4O10 (4SrO–2Al2O3) was performed by using a simple aqueous sol–gel processing. The formation of strontium aluminate phases was investigated as a function of temperature in the range of 700–1200 °C. The obtained compounds were doped with cerium in the concentration range of 0.25–3.00 mol%. The sol–gel derived samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that optical properties of obtained phosphor materials slightly depend on the nature, crystal structure and phase purity of the strontium aluminate matrix.