title: Photoluminescence properties and energy transfer of color tunable MgZn₂(PO₄)₂:Ce³⁺,Tb³⁺ phosphors.
abstract: A series of Ce(3+)/Tb(3+) co-doped MgZn2(PO4)2 phosphors have been synthesized by the co-precipitation method. Their structure, morphology, photoluminescence properties, decay lifetime, thermal stability and luminous efficiency were investigated. The possible energy transfer mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results and detailed luminescence spectra and decay curves of the phosphors. The critical distance between Ce(3+) and Tb(3+) ions was calculated by both the concentration quenching method and the spectral overlap method. The energy transfer mechanism from the Ce(3+) to Tb(3+) ion was determined to be dipole-quadrupole interaction, and the energy transfer efficiency was 85%. By utilizing the principle of energy transfer and appropriate tuning of Ce(3+)/Tb(3+) contents, the emission color of the obtained phosphors can be tuned from blue to green light. The MgZn2(PO4)2:Ce(3+),Tb(3+) phosphor is proved to be a promising UV-convertible material capable of green light emitting in UV-LEDs due to its excellent thermal stability and luminescence properties.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Material and Technology for Clean Energy, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Autonomous Region, Institute of Applied Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, P. R. China. jdz@xju.edu.cn jdz0991@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mengjiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Material and Technology for Clean Energy, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Autonomous Region, Institute of Applied Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, P. R. China. jdz@xju.edu.cn jdz0991@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Luxiang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Material and Technology for Clean Energy, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Autonomous Region, Institute of Applied Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, P. R. China. jdz@xju.edu.cn jdz0991@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dianzeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Material and Technology for Clean Energy, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Autonomous Region, Institute of Applied Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, P. R. China. jdz@xju.edu.cn jdz0991@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hongyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao