Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of red-emitting Y6WO12:Eu3+ phosphors

•EuxY6–xWO12 (x = 0.1–1.0) phosphors were synthesized via a solid-state reaction.•Strongest excitation peaks observed at 392 nm (near UV) and 463 nm (blue).•The major emission peak of the red phosphor excited by 392 nm was at 605 nm.•The quantum efficiency of EuxY6–xWO12 (x = 0.1–1.0) phosphors had been done.

For a system of white-light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) fabricated using near-ultraviolet (UV) LED chips coated with RGB tri-color phosphors, the most important issue is enhancing the efficiency of the red phosphor. Y6WO12:Eu3+ phosphor is a potential material that can emit red color under near-UV excitation. This work investigated the luminescence properties of Y6WO12:Eu3+ under UV light excitation. The photoluminescence (PL) emission intensity of EuxY6–xWO12 (x = 0.1–1.0) phosphor from the 5D0→7F2 transition increased with Eu3+ content until x = 0.9. For x > 0.9, the PL emission intensity decreased due to concentration quenching. The decay time of EuxY6–xWO12 (x = 0.1–1.0) phosphor for the 5D0→7F2 transition was about 0.6–0.7 ms and did not decrease obviously, which means that there was no nonradiative energy transfer in the phosphor. The asymmetry ratio (5D0 → 7F2/5D0 → 7F1) of EuxY6–xWO12 (x = 0.1–1.0) was about 2, which caused the PL emission intensity of EuxY6–xWO12 (x = 0.1–1.0) phosphor from the 5D0→7F2 transition to be higher than that from the 5D0→7F1 transition. The chromaticity coordinates of the EuxY6–xWO12 (x = 0.1–1.0) phosphor were close to the chromaticity coordinates of the standard red color. The EuxY6–xWO12 (x = 0.9) phosphor showed the highest quantum efficiency.