Tailoring the luminescent properties of Gd2O3:Tb3+ phosphor particles by codoping with Al3+ ions

Spherical-shaped, Tb3+/Al3+ codoped Gd2O3 phosphor particles were synthesized using a urea homogeneous precipitation method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy measurements confirmed the formation of nearly-uniform spherical particles with sizes in the range, 250 ± 50 nm. In this study we examined the effects of the Al3+ codoping concentration on the photoluminescence emission of Tb3+ doped Gd2O3 phosphor particles. The results confirmed that incorporating Al3+ into Gd2O3:Tb3+ phosphor is highly favorable for improving the emission of the synthesized Gd2O3:Tb3+ phosphor particles. In addition, the simple approach for the luminescence enhancement given here can be extended to the other phosphor systems.

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► Spherical-shaped Al3+ codoped Gd2O3:Tb3+ phosphor particles were synthesized.
► Luminescence enhancement of Gd2O3:Tb3+ was achieved by tailoring with Al3+ ions.
► Mechanism of Gd2O3:Tb3+/Al3+ luminescence enhancement was discussed in detail.