Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of NaPbB5O9:Dy3+ phosphor materials for white light applications

• NaPbB5O9:Dy3+ phosphors were prepared with different concentrations of Dy3+ using the SSR method.
• Intensities of emission transitions increased up to a Dy3+ ion concentration of 0.04.
• Decay profiles of the 4F9/2 luminescent levels were non-exponential at all concentrations.
• NaPbB5O9:Dy3+ phosphor powders emitted white light at excitation wavelengths of 348 and 387 nm.

Given the recent increased interest in phosphor materials and their applications, we analyzed a new NaPbB5O9:Dy3+ phosphor material with different concentrations of Dy3+. In particular, we investigated the crystal structure, morphology, and luminescence properties of these materials. X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed the formation of NaPbB5O9:Dy3+ phosphor powder. The functional groups present in the phosphor materials were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscope images showed that the size of the grains was in the micrometer range. Photoluminescence spectra were recorded at different excitation wavelengths for the phosphor materials and we analyzed the variation in the intensity of the emission bands with different concentrations of Dy3+ ions. The color co-ordinates were calculated and used to characterize the color of the phosphor. We found that the emission colors of the Dy3+-doped NaPbB5O9 powders depended on the Dy3+ ion doping concentration and the excitation wavelength.