Energy trapping to substitutional and charge compensation defects in persistent luminescent BaAl₂O₄:Tb³⁺

Abstract

The holistic approach of the photoluminescence (PL), thermoluminescence (TL), and persistent luminescence properties at room temperature of BaAl2O4:Tb3+ were investigated in detail using a wide range of techniques. Materials were obtained using a solution combustion synthesis. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns of nondoped and Tb3+ doped BaAl2O4 indicated the hexagonal phase, and a Tb4O7 solid solution was observed at 4 and 5 mol% Tb doped aluminate. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that Ba occupied one site and that Tbions occupied this site as Tb3+ as well as TbIV. PL emission in blue, green, and red was observed under an excitation at 228 nm, that originated from the interconfigurational 4f8–4f75d1 transitions of Tb3+. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance, and PL revealed the presence of a Cr3+ impurity. The 0.5 mol% Tb3+ doped BaAl2O4 exhibited a strong TL band at 354, 437 and 598 K, which were attributed to the traps formed by Tb3+ doping and subsequent O2- charge compensation. A persistent luminescence mechanism was constructed for the Tb3+ doped BaAl2O4.After the energy was stored in thermally liberated Tb3+ in the Ba2+ substitution sites and charge compensation defects, the Tb3+ was the source of the continuous luminescence.