Tuning the optical and photoluminescence properties of high efficient Eu3+ -doped KY3F10 phosphors by different synthetic approaches

Abstract

Eu3+-doped KY3F10 materials with a dopant content between 0 and 5 mol% were prepared based on the nominal composition K(Y3-xEux)F10 using different synthetic routes. The reaction conditions have been proven to be critical factors for the characteristics of the final products: morphology, size and crystallinity. As a result, noticeable changes in their photoluminescence spectra and lifetimes were observed. Quantum cutting processes or similar energy transfers between Eu3+ ions allowed obtaining high quantum efficiencies, while the analysis of the 𝛺�����2 Judd-Ofelt parameter suggested that the crystal field of Eu3+ was very similar in all the compositions. A welldesigned synthesis of Ln3+-doped fluorides can provide a full range of opportunities to explore new phenomena. Thus, this study highlights the complexity of the fluoridebased systems, which are exceptional candidates for doping with luminescent lanthanide ions and have very important characteristics for their future application in bioanalytics, biomedics or photonics. Indeed, the color-tunable emissions of the phosphors, which vary from orangish to yellow, could be interesting for their application in white light-emitting diodes through their combination with blue chips.