Enhanced photoluminescence properties and energy transfer in a new Tb3+ and Ce3+ co-doped KBa2(PO3)5 green-emitting phosphor

A series of KBa2−x−y(PO3)5:xTb3+, yCe3+ phosphors have been synthesized by the conventional high temperature solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure, the morphology, and the luminescent properties were investigated by X-ray power diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoluminescence spectra (PL). In the Ce3+ and Tb3+ co-doped system, the efficient energy transfer mechanism has been demonstrated to be an electric dipole-dipole interaction. The experimental results show that the optimum Tb3+ and Ce3+ doping concentrations are 0.4 and 0.01, respectively. The new phosphor of KBa1.59(PO3)5:0.4Tb3+, 0.01Ce3+ shows remarkable CIE chromaticity coordinates, indicating that it has potential application as a green-emitting phosphor in white light-emitting diodes (W-LEDs).