Synthesis and photoluminescence study of a single dopant near white light emitting Li4CaB2O6:Dy3+ nanophosphor

In this paper, a series of trivalent Dy doped Li4CaB2O6 nanocrystalline phosphors were synthesized by combustion method using urea as an organic fuel and their structural, optical and photoluminescence (PL) properties were investigated using X-Ray Diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and PL spectroscopy. The prepared nanophosphor crystallized in an orthorhombic phase with a space group of pnnm (113). The electronic band gap of the prepared nanophosphor was estimated as 5.2 eV. The PL study revealed that the Li4CaB2O6:Dy3+ nanophosphor emitted yellowish white light arising from the two dominant emission bands one in the blue region corresponding to the F-4(9/2) -> H-6(15/2) transition and the other in the yellow region corresponding to the F-4(9/2) -> H-6(15/2) transition under near ultraviolet excitation. The study confirms the feasibility of the prepared nanophosphor to generate white light revealing its potential as a single dopant near white light emitting nanophosphor for white-light emitting diodes. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.