Spectral properties of BCNO phosphor with wide range of excitation and emission

• We prepared BCNO phosphors with red emission peak which can reach 630 nm for the first time.
• The prepared BCNO phosphors have wide range of excitation and emission.
• The spectral properties and luminescence mechanism of BCNO phosphors were investigated.

Boron carbon oxynitride (BCNO) phosphors with wide excitation and emission range (up to 630 nm emission peak) were prepared at 675 °C under atmospheric pressure. Boric acid, melamine and glycerol were used as boron, nitrogen and carbon sources, respectively. The BCNO phosphor had turbostratic structure (t-BCN) and particle size was in the range of 10–50 μm. FTIR results indicated that the and O were involved in the structure of samples and bonded to B and N to form BCNO phosphors. Both the excitation and emission spectra shifted to long wavelength and the emission peak position can be tuned from 460 nm to 630 nm with increasing glycerol. Ultraviolet–visible absorption spectra suggested that optical band gap of BCNO phosphors decreased with increasing glycerol. The spectra properties were closely related to the carbon related defects levels.