Luminescence properties of Eu2 + and Ce3 + in Na5Ca2Al(PO4)4 produced by the combustion-assisted synthesis method

• Eu2 +/Ce3 + codoped Na5Ca2Al(PO4)4 phosphor was prepared.
• XRD analysis revealed that single-phase Na5Ca2Al(PO4)4 was obtained.
• Efficient energy transfer from Ce3 + to Eu2 + in Na5Ca2Al(PO4)4 is observed.
• We report greenish-blue phosphors in the fields of lighting and display.

New greenish-blue luminescence Eu2 +/Ce3 + codoped Na5Ca2Al(PO4)4 phosphors were prepared by a combustion-assisted synthesis method. X-ray powder diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of Na5Ca2Al(PO4)4 host lattice.. The Eu2 +-doped Na5Ca2Al(PO4)4 sample has an efficient greenish-blue emission band that peaks at 476 nm, while Ce3 +-doped Na5Ca2Al(PO4)4 sample exhibits a strong emission band at 391 nm. Efficient energy transfer from Ce3 + to Eu2 + occurs due to the large spectral overlap between the emission of Ce3 + and excitation of Eu2 +. Co-doping Ce3 + enhances the emission intensity of Eu2 + greatly by transferring its excitation energy to Eu2 +, and Ce3 + plays a role as a sensitizer. Ce3 +/Eu2 + co-doped Na5Ca2Al(PO4)4 can possibly be applied as greenish-blue phosphors in the fields of lighting and display.