Strong broad green UV-excited photoluminescence in rare earth (RE = Ce, Eu, Dy, Er, Yb) doped barium zirconate

• Published in: Materials science & engineering. B, Solid-state materials for advanced technology Solid-state materials for advanced technology, 2011-10, Vol.176 (17), p.1388-1392
• Main Authors: Borja-Urby, R., Diaz-Torres, L.A., Salas, P., Angeles-Chavez, C., Meza, O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Barium zirconate; Barium zirconates; Color; Dysprosium; Erbium; Excitation; Nanocrystals; Photoluminescence; Rare earth metals; Rare earths; White light
• ISSN: 0921-5107; 1873-4944
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mseb.2011.03.008

► Trivalent rare earth (RE) substitution on Zr 4+ sites in BaZrO 3 lead to band gap narrowing. ► RE substitution lead to enhanced blue-green intrinsic emission of nanocrystalline BaZrO 3 ► Blue-green hue of BaZrO3:RE depends on RE dopant and excitation UV wavelength ► BaZrO3: Dy 3+ PL chromatic coordinates correspond to pure white color coordinates of CIE 1931 model The wet synthesis hydrothermal method at 100 °C was used to elaborate barium zirconate (BaZrO 3) unpurified with 0.5 mol% of different rare earth ions (RE = Yb, Er, Dy, Eu, Ce). Morphological, structural and UV-photoluminescence properties depend on the substituted rare earth ionic radii. While the crystalline structure of RE doped BaZrO 3 remains as a cubic perovskite for all substituted RE ions, its band gap changes between 4.65 and 4.93 eV. Under 267 nm excitation the intrinsic green photoluminescence of the as synthesized BaZrO 3: RE samples is considerably improved by the substitution on RE ions. For 1000 °C annealed samples, under 267 nm, the photoluminescence is dominated by the intrinsic BZO emission. It is interesting to notice that Dy 3+, Er 3+ and Yb 3+ doped samples present whitish emissions that might be useful for white light generation under 267 nm excitation. CIE color coordinates are reported for all samples.