Structural, optical and scintillation properties of cerium cyclotriphosphates and polyphosphates

The cerium cyclotriphosphate CeP3O9·3H2O and polyphosphate Ce(PO3)3 have been optically investigated for the first time. In both materials, excitation and emission spectra under UV and X-ray excitations as well as emission decays of Ce3+ were measured at room temperature. The spectroscopic results of anhydrous Ce(PO3)3, prepared by progressively heating the corresponding CeP3O9. 3H2O, are discussed and correlated with the structural data.For the Ce(PO3)3 polyphosphate material, the Stokes shift of the d–f emission is very small (760 cm−1), inducing an efficient ultraviolet luminescence and a new application as scintillator.