Luminescent ceramic nano-pigments based on terbium-doped zinc aluminate: Synthesis, properties and performance

Nanocrystalline zinc aluminate (ZnAl2O4) doped with terbium (III) was synthesized using a chemical co-precipitation reaction followed by calcination. The system has an average crystallite size of 6.5 ± 2.0 nm, calculated by the X-ray diffraction data, which is in close agreement with the particle size determined via high resolution transmission electronic microscopy. Rietveld refinement of the X-ray powder diffraction profile of the samples confirms that the aluminum ions are substituted by terbium ions in the host lattice. The effects of the terbium concentration and particle size of the samples on their luminescence properties were studied. The photoluminescence spectra exhibited a green emission band, with an excitation wavelength of 230 nm. Technological tests in several ceramic applications confirmed that these pigments and their luminescence properties are very stable at high temperatures, and these results suggest that these pigments have the potential to be applied as satisfactory ceramic luminescent pigments.