Hydrothermal synthesis, characterization, and luminescence of Ca2B2O5:RE (RE = Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+) nanofibers

Ca2B2O5:RE (RE = Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+) nanofibers were synthesized by the hydrothermal reaction method. The structural refinement was conducted on the base of the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) measurements. The surface properties of the Ca2B2O5:RE (RE = Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+) nanofibers were investigated by the measurements such as the scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the energy dispersive spectrum (EDS). The nanofiber has a diameter of about 100 nm and a length of several micrometers. The luminescence properties such as photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and emission spectra (PL), decay lifetime, color coordinates, and the absolute internal quantum efficiency (QE) were reported. Ca2B2O5:Eu3+ nanofibers show the red luminescence with CIE coordinates of (x = 0.41, y = 0.51) and the luminescence lifetime of 0.63 ms. The luminescence of Ca2B2O5:Tb3+ nanofibers is green color (x = 0.29, y = 0.53) with the lifetime of 2.13 ms. However, Dy3+-doped Ca2B2O5 nanofibers present a single-phase white-color phosphor with the fluorescence decay of 3.05 ms. Upon near-UV excitation, the absolute quantum efficiency is measured to be 65, 35, and 37 % for Eu3+-, Tb3+-, Dy3+-doped Ca2B2O5 nanofibers, respectively. It is suggested that Ca2B2O5:RE (RE = Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+) nanofibers could be an efficient phosphor for lighting and display.