Structure and photoluminescence study of porous red-emitting MgAl2O4:Eu3+ phosphor

The MgAl2O4:Eu3+ phosphors with various morphologies including spherical and rod-like porous structure have been synthesized via a simple and efficient hydrothermal process followed by a post-annealing approach. The experimental results demonstrated that the amounts of urea and PEG 2000 play important roles in the controllable formation of spherical or rod-like phosphors. The N2 adsorption and desorption data showed MgAl2O4:Eu3+ phosphors with the high surface areas of 34.55 and 50.42 m2 g−1. The photoluminescent excitation and emission spectra indicated the excellent red-emitting property of MgAl2O4:Eu3+ phosphors due to the characteristic transitions of Eu3+ from 5D0 → 7Fj (j = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4).