Effect of Tb 3+ and Ce 3+ Co-doping on the Structure and Photoluminescence Properties of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Phosphors

• Published in: Journal of fluorescence 2024-03
• Main Authors: Nie, Lunshuai, Jia, Kai, Guo, Hongguang, He, Jiaqin, Weng, Zhehui, Li, Yizhou, Ju, Haidong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1573-4994

In the paper, we have successfully prepared hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN:Tb , Ce ) phosphors with melamine as the nitrogen source. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns confirm that the sample possesses a hexagonal crystal structure within the P m2 space group. It is interesting that the co-doping combination of Tb and Ce can markedly enhance the threshold concentration of doped activators within the limited solid solution of h-BN phosphors. Under 302 nm excitation, the h-BN:Ce phosphors exhibit broadband blue light emission at 406 nm. In h-BN:Tb , Ce phosphors, the co-doping of Ce not only ensures high phase purity but also results in strong green light emission. The energy transfer efficiency from Ce to Tb is about 55%. The fluorescence lifetime increases with the increase of Ce and Tb concentration, and the fluorescence lifetime of h-BN:0.025Tb , 0.05Ce phosphor reached 2.087 ms. Additionally, the h-BN:0.025Tb , 0.05Ce phosphor exhibits excellent thermal performance with an activation energy value of 0.2825 eV. Moreover, the photoluminescence quantum yield of the sample exceeds 52%. Therefore, the h-BN:Tb , Ce samples can be used as green phosphors for solid state lighting and fluorescent labeling.