Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.90, No.12, 3943-3946, 2007
Photoluminescent properties of SrTiO3 : Pr, Al nanophosphors synthesized by microemulsion-microwave heating
A novel approach for the preparation of SrTiO3:Pr, Al nanophosphors by microemulsion-microwave heating is reported in this paper. In comparison with the conventional solid-state sintering processes, this novel method provides a limited small space in a micelle for the formation of nanosized precursors and requires a very short heating time, thus reducing the energy consumption. As a result, small-sized particles with a narrow size distribution and high purity were produced. Transmission electron microscopy characterizations indicated that the synthesized particles were almost spherical with an averaging diameter of similar to 24 nm and agglomerates slightly. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the perovskite cubic structure of SrTiO3:Pr3+ nanoparticles. The luminescent of SrTiO3:Pr, Al phosphors were investigated by photoluminescence. Under 350 nm excitation, SrTiO3:Pr, Al showed a strong red emission, peaking at around 615 nm. The photoluminescence excitation intensity was enhanced by the addition of Al3+ ions.