Preparation and luminescence properties of BaZrO3:Eu phosphor powders

The phosphor powders of BaZrO3 doped with Eu3+ was prepared by solid-state reaction. The powder samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL). XRD analysis showed the formation of pure solid solution BaZr1−xEuxO3 up to 4 mol% of Eu3+ concentration. The room temperature excitation spectra vary with the Eu3+ concentration and consist of an intense charge transfer band and weak f–f transitions. The PL spectra, excited at 258.0 nm, consist of 4f–4f emission transitions from the 5D0 excited level of the Eu3+ ions to the 7FJ (J = 0–4) levels. The appearance of intense 5D0–7F0 transition originated from the J–J mixing suggests the distortion of EuO6 octahedra in the BaZr1−xEuxO3 host lattice. The dependence of luminescence intensity on the Eu3+ concentration in BaZrO3:Eu was studied.