A novel white emission in Ba10F2(PO4)6:Dy3+ single-phase full-color phosphor

• The novel Ba10F2(PO4)6:Dy3+ single-phase full-color phosphor was synthesized.
• Sites and luminescence properties in Ba10F2(PO4)6:Dy3+ phosphor also discussed.
• Ba10F2(PO4)6:Dy3+ could be a potential white phosphor for blue LEDs.

A novel single-composition white-emitting phosphor Ba10F2(PO4)6:Dy3+ was synthesized by a high-temperature solid-state reaction. X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analyses confirmed the phase formation of Ba10F2(PO4)6:Dy3+. The luminescence properties show that the phosphor can be effectively excited by UV light (348 nm) and exhibits bright white-light emission centered at 479 and 574 nm, attributed to the 4F9/2 → 6H15/2 and 4F9/2 → 6H13/2 transitions of Dy3+ ions, respectively. The luminescence intensity of Ba10−xF2(PO4)6:xDy3+ phosphor first increased and then decreased with increasing Dy3+ concentration, reaching the maximum at x = 0.35. The UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectra indicate that the optical band gap energy (Eg) values of Ba10F2(PO4)6 and Ba9.65F2(PO4)6:0.35Dy3+ are ∼2.71 and 3.04 eV, respectively. The decay time was also determined for various concentrations of Dy3+ in Ba10F2(PO4)6. The decay time analysis indicates that the Dy3+ ions occupied two lattice sites in Ba10F2(PO4)6 host and the interactions or energy transfer/migration exists between the Dy3+ ions. The chromaticity coordinates were calculated and analyzed; the Commission International de I'Eclairage color coordinates fall in the white-light region. The results indicate that the white Ba10F2(PO4)6:Dy3+ phosphor can serve as a key material for phosphor-converted light-emitting diode.