Luminescence properties of Eu3+ and Dy3+ doped β-BaB2O4 nanocrystals

β-BaB2O4 nanocrystals co-doped with Eu3+ and Dy3+ were synthesized and their luminescence properties have been studied. The emission of β-BaB2O4:Eu3+ sample is composed of three main peaks at 595, 615 and 675 nm, which are assigned to 5D0→7Fj(j = 1, 2, 3) of Eu3+. The 5D0 → 7F1 electronic transition is the most prominent one in the spectrum. However, in the Eu3+ and Dy3+ co-activated sample, the characteristic emission peaks of Dy3+ ions are not observed and the luminescence intensity of 5D0 → 7F2 transition is stronger than that of the 5D0 → 7F1 transition because of the deform of the host lattice of β-BaB2O4 when Dy3+ ions are incorporated.