Preparation of Y2O3:Eu3+ phosphor by molten salt assisted method

A kind of fine and quasi-spherical Y2O3:Eu3+ phosphor was prepared by firing a preparative precursor at 1 200 °C for 2 h with the molten salts of Na2CO3, S and NaCl. The precursor was obtained by homogeneous precipitation of yttrium and europium with oxalic acid when using EDTA, citric acid or starch as complexant. The structure and morphology of the phosphors were characterized by XRD and SEM, respectively. The influence of complexing environment, firing temperature and molten salts on formation of the phosphor Y2O3:Eu3+ was discussed. The result show that the prepared Y2O3:Eu3- phosphor is of quasi-spherical structure with size of 2–3 μm. Its luminescent intensity is 30% higher than that of the same phosphor prepared by the same procedure but without molten salts, and is 5% higher than that of commercial Y2O3:Eu3+ red phosphor.