Nanocrystalline Y₃Ga₅O₁₂:Eu³⁺,Tb³⁺: A Promising Phosphor for White LED Lighting Application

Abstract

Y3Ga5O12:Eu3+, YGG:Tb3+, and YGG:Eu3+,Tb3+ nanocrystalline are synthesized by the sol–gel combustion method. The phase composition, morphology, and luminescent properties are investigated in detail, and the influence of energy transfer between activators on the luminescent properties is also discussed. The results show that under UV excitation, the optimal doping concentration of YGG:Eu3+ nanocrystal is 0.1, and the emission light is red-orange. In the YGG:Eu3+,Tb3+ codoped nanocrystalline, Tb3+ acts as an effective sensitizer and can improve the emission intensity of Eu3+ by transferring the absorbed excitation energy through the dipole–dipole interaction mechanism. At the same time, the blue emission of 489 nm and the green emission of 544 nm generated by YGG:Tb3+ under UV excitation can effectively improve the red-orange emission of YGG:Eu3+ due to the lack of blue-green emission, resulting in white light with good color purity. The results show that Eu3+,Tb3+ codoped YGG nanocrystalline have potential applications in white light-emitting diodes.