Combustion synthesis and photoluminescence of SrAl2O4:Eu,Dy phosphor nanoparticles

Eu2+, Dy3+ co-doped strontium aluminate (SrAl2O4) phosphor nanoparticles with high brightness and long afterglow were prepared by glycine-nitrate solution combustion synthesis at 500 degreesC, followed by heating the resultant combustion ash at 1100 degreesC in a weak reductive atnipsphere of active carbon. The average particle size of the SrAl2O4:Eu,Dy phosphor nanoparticles ranges from 15 to 45 nm as indicated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The broad-band UV-excited luminescence of the SrAl2O4:Eu,Dy phosphor nanoparticles was observed at lambda(max) = 513 mn due to transitions from the 4f(6)5d(1) to the 4f(7) configuration of the EU ion. The results indicated that the main peaks in the emission and excitation spectrum of phosphor nanoparticles shifted to the short wavelength compared with the phosphor obtained by the solid-state reaction synthesis method. The decay speed of the afterglow for phosphor nanoparticles was faster than that obtained by the solid-state reaction method. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.