Theoretical analysis on quenching mechanisms for Lu2O3: Eu3+ nanospheres

Lu2O3 nanospheres with various concentrations of Eu3+ are synthesized via urea homogeneous precipitation method. The influence of the Eu3+ doping concentration on the structural, optical properties was systemically studied. The emission spectra of Lu2O3: Eu3+ nanospheres consist of a group of sharp lines from blue to red light originating from 5D1, 0→7FJ transitions of Eu3+. The photoluminescence intensities and decay times varies with the increasing Eu3+ concentrations, which are attributed to the energy transfer among the Eu3+ ions. The fluorescent quenching is mainly due to the D–D interaction by using the Van Uitert’s model and Dexter’s model. The Lu2O3: Eu3+ phosphor exhibits good thermal characteristics. The emission intensity of Lu2O3: Eu3+ phosphor only decreases 8% with the increasing of temperature from 303 to 403 K. The temperature quenching behavior of Lu2O3: Eu3+ is attributed to the crossover process via the charge transfer band with high activation energy of 0.264 eV. Moreover, the Judd–Ofelt parameters Ωλ\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\Omega_{\lambda}$$\end{document} (λ = 2, 4, 6) of Eu3+ in Lu2O3 phosphor were also calculated.