Tunable white light and energy transfer of Eu2+‐Tb3+‐Eu3+ tri‐activated glasses synthesized in air

• Published in: Journal of the American Ceramic Society Vol. 102; no. 11; pp. 6777 - 6786
• Main Authors: Guo, Hai, Teng, Liming, Wei, Rongfei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Columbus Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Chromaticity; Diodes; Energy transfer; Europium; Fluorescence; glass; optical materials/properties; Organic light emitting diodes; Photoelectrons; Photoluminescence; rare earths; Spectrum analysis; Synthesis; Thermal stability; Ultraviolet radiation; Ultraviolet spectra; White light
• ISSN: 0002-7820; 1551-2916
• DOI: 10.1111/jace.16532

An ever increasing demand for white light‐emitting diodes (W‐LEDs) results in the gradual growth of research on functionalized luminescent glasses. In this paper, single‐composition tunable white‐emitting Eu2+‐Tb3+‐Eu3+ tri‐activated glasses were synthesized by melt quenching method without additional reducing atmosphere. The coexistence of Eu2+ and Eu3+ was confirmed by ultraviolet‐visible transmission spectra, photoluminescent spectra, fluorescence decay curves, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Tb3+ can act as bridge to connect Eu2+‐Eu3+ luminescent centers by energy transfer. Tone‐tunable white light can be achieved by coupling the emission centered at 412, 541, and 612 nm contributed from Eu2+, Tb3+, and Eu3+, respectively. By adjusting the relative content of Eu2+/Tb3+/Eu3+, ideal chromaticity coordinates of (0.33, 0.33) can be achieved under excitation of ultraviolet light. High thermal stability and tiny chromaticity shift were exhibited in samples. These results suggest that Eu2+‐Tb3+‐Eu3+ tri‐activated glasses have great potential application in ultraviolet‐driven W‐LEDs.