Novel Red-Emitting Ba2Tb(BO3)2Cl:Eu Phosphor with Efficient Energy Transfer for Potential Application in White Light-Emitting Diodes

A novel red-emitting Ba(2)Tb(BO(3))(2)Cl:Eu phosphor possessing a broad excitation band in the near-ultraviolet (n-UV) region was synthesized by the solid-state reaction. Versatile Ba(2)Tb(BO(3))(2)Cl compound has a rigid open framework, which can offer two types of sites for various valence's cations to occupy, and the coexistence of Eu(2+)/Eu(3+) and the red-emitting luminescence from Eu(3+) with the aid of efficient energy transfer of Eu(2+)-Eu(3+)(Tb(3+)) and Tb(3+)-Eu(3+) have been investigated. Ba(2)Tb(BO(3))(2)Cl emits green emission with the main peak around 543 nm, which originates from (5)D(4) → (7)F(5) transition of Tb(3+). Ba(2)Tb(BO(3))(2)Cl:Eu shows bright red emission from Eu(3+) with peaks around 594, 612, and 624 nm under n-UV excitation (350-420 nm). The existence of Eu(2+) can be testified by the broad-band excitation spectrum, UV-vis reflectance spectrum, X-ray photoelectron spectrum, and Eu L(3)-edge X-ray absorption spectrum. Decay time and time-resolved luminescence measurements indicated that the interesting luminescence behavior should be ascribed to efficient energy transfer of Eu(2+)-Eu(3+)(Tb(3+)) and Tb(3+)-Eu(3+) in Ba(2)Tb(BO(3))(2)Cl:Eu phosphors.