White emission phosphors based on Dy3+-doped into anhydrous rare-earth benzenetricarboxylate complexes

White light emitting rare earth anhydrous complexes RE(TMA):Dy3+ (RE3+ = Y3+ and Lu3+) containing the trimesic acid ligands (TMA) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction patterns, thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy. The crystallinity and thermostability of these luminescent materials were determined. Since the first excited triplet state (T1: 24,000 cm−1) of TMA ligand is located at higher energy than the main emitting 4F9/2 level (21,000 cm−1) of the Dy3+ ion, TMA can act as efficient luminescent sensitizer in the intramolecular energy transfer of RE(TMA):Dy3+ material. The near-white emission colour originated from the intraconfigurational transitions of Dy3+ ion 4F9/2→6HJ is discussed.

► Aqueous synthesis.
► White-light emitting phosphors.
► Photoluminescence of dysprosium.
► Rare-earth benzenetricarboxylate complexes.