Luminescent Gd1.9Eu0.1O3 nanospheres for flat panel displays

Gd
_1.9
Eu
_0.1
O
₃
spherical shaped nanophosphors were successfully prepared by a large-scale and facile solution based citrate-metal complex method without using any catalyst or template followed by subsequent heat treatment process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) measurements were done to evaluate the phase composition, surface morphology and luminescent properties of the nanophosphors. Complete formation of Gd
_1.9
Eu
_0.1
O
₃
takesplace at a relatively low temperature of about 700 °C and found that the crystallinity of the samples increases with increase of sintering temperature. Observation of increase of photoluminescent emission intensity of the samples can be correlated with the improved crystallinity, uniform morphology, particle size, reduced defects, and proper diffusion of Eu
³⁺
in to the crystal structure of Gd
₂
O
₃
. Higher asymmetric ratio results in profound red emission (612 nm) due to
⁵
D
₀
-
⁷
F
₂
transition and found that photoluminescence intensity get saturated for samples prepared above 800 °C. CIE chromaticity coordinates obtained are found to be very close to standard red emission. The existence of strong red emission from spherical shaped Gd
_1.9
Eu
_0.1
O
₃
nanophosphor corresponding to
⁵
D
₀
-
⁷
F
₂
transition (612 nm) of Eu
³⁺
under UV light excitation make it a potential candidate for applications in fluorescent lamps and flat panel displays.