Color-tunable luminescence properties and energy transfer of Tb3+/Sm3+ co-doped Ca9La(PO4)5(SiO4)F2 phosphors.

Highlights • The ET mechanism has been confirmed by the luminescence spectra and fluorescence decay curves. • The ET interaction mechanism was determined to be dipole–quadrupole interaction. • The emission color of as-prepared phosphor could be adjusted from green to yellow. Abstract The Ca 9 La(PO 4) 5 (SiO 4)F 2 :Tb3+,Sm3+ phosphor with apatite structure has been successfully synthesized by high temperature solid-state reaction, and its luminescence properties as well as energy transfer mechanism has been investigated in detail. The energy transfer (ET) efficiency increases with increasing Sm3+ doping content, that was confirmed by the luminescence spectra and fluorescence decay curves of corresponding ions. The ET interaction mechanism was determined to be dipole–quadrupole interaction. The emission color of Ca 9 La(PO 4) 5 (SiO 4)F 2 :Tb3+,Sm3+ phosphor could be adjusted from green (0.272, 0.489) to yellow (0.363, 0.395) area through controlling the dopant ratio of Tb3+/Sm3+. The above results indicate that the Ca 9 La(PO 4) 5 (SiO 4)F 2 :Tb3+,Sm3+ phosphor has a great potential in white light-emitting diodes application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]