Photo-luminescent properties of Eu3+ ion-doped Ca4REO(BO3)3 (RELa,Y,Gd)

Europium-doped materials Ca4REO(BO3)3 (RE=La,Y,Gd) were first synthesized by a sol-gel process technique. The reaction temperature of the sol-gel process was 300 °C lower than that of solid-state reaction and the reaction time of sol-gel process was shorter. The photo-luminescence characteristics of Eu-doped Ca4REO(BO3)3 (RE=La,Y,Gd) indicated that all compounds exhibited strong luminescence of 5D0-7F2 at 608 nm under excitation at 242 nm. The emission intensity of phosphors prepared by sol-gel process was higher than those prepared by solid-state reaction; particularly the compound Ca4La0.9Eu0.1O(BO3)3 prepared by sol-gel process presented the highest brightness. SEM images showed that particles prepared by sol-gel process had more regular morphology and smaller grain size.