Preparation and characterization of a new long afterglow indigo phosphor Ca12Al14O33:Nd,Eu

A new phosphor Ca12Al14O33:Nd,Eu was synthesized by a traditional solid-state reaction method and the luminescent properties were investigated. The phosphors are well crystallized by calcination at 1200 °C. The excitation and the emission spectra show the characteristic broadband of the Eu2+ ion and the emission light is indigo. Doping Nd3+ ion in the phosphor results in indigo long afterglow phosphorescence (the time for the phosphorescence intensity to decrease to 10% of its initial value is about 50 s) when the excitation light is cut off. The emission intensity decreases with the increase of Nd3+ ion concentration. Whereas, the phosphorescence intensity and afterglow time improve when the concentration of Nd3+ ion increases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]