New Eu activated ZnMgAl10O17 nanophosphor

A new red emitting phosphor, ZnMgAl10O17:Eu, was prepared by a novel urea templated combustion route. Photoluminescence and crystalline properties were investigated as function of Eu doping levels. It was found that under UV excitation with a wavelength of 254 nm, the phosphor gave emission at blue (λmax = 452 nm) and red (λmax = 613 nm) region due to 4f65d1 → 4f7 and 5D0 → 7F2 transition respectively. Whereas the ZnMgAl10O17:Eu also gave emission at 580, 590, 599, 655, 700 and 770 nm in the red region of the spectrum due to 5D0 → 7Fj (j = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). The maximum emission intensity of the ZnMgAl10O17 phosphors occurred at a Eu concentration of 1 mol%. The scanning electron microscopy and particle size analysis indicated that phosphor particle have an irregularly shaped morphology, the average particle size was found to be approximately 630 nm.