Facile and green synthesis of (La(0.95)Eu(0.05))(2)O(2)S red phosphors with sulfate-ion pillared layered hydroxides as a new type of precursor: controlled hydrothermal processing, phase evolution and photoluminescence

This study presents a facile and green route for the synthesis of (La(0.95)Eu(0.05))(2)O(2)S red phosphors of controllable morphologies, with the sulfate-type layered hydroxides of Ln(2)(OH)(4)SO(4)·2H(2)O (Ln = La and Eu) as a new type of precursor. The technique takes advantage of the fact that the precursor has had the exact Ln:S molar ratio of the targeted phosphor, thus saving the hazardous sulfurization reagents indispensable to traditional synthesis. Controlled hydrothermal processing at 120 °C yielded phase-pure Ln(2)(OH)(4)SO(4)·2H(2)O crystallites in the form of either nanoplates or microprisms, which can both be converted into Ln(2)O(2)S phosphor via a Ln(2)O(2)SO(4) intermediate upon annealing in flowing H(2) at a minimum temperature of ∼ 700 °C. The nanoplates collapse into relatively rounded Ln(2)O(2)S particles while the microprisms retain well their initial morphologies at 1 200 °C, thus yielding two types of red phosphors. Photoluminescence excitation (PLE) studies found two distinct charge transfer (CT) excitation bands of O(2−) → Eu(3+) at ∼ 270 nm and S(2−) → Eu(3+) at ∼ 340 nm for the Ln(2)O(2)S phosphors, with the latter being stronger and both significantly stronger than the intrinsic intra-f transitions of Eu(3+). The two types of phosphors share high similarities in the positions of PLE/PL (photoluminescence) bands and both show the strongest red emission at 627 nm ((5)D(0) → (7)F(2) transition of Eu(3+)) under S(2−) → Eu(3+) CT excitation at 340 nm. The PLE/PL intensities show clear dependence on particle morphology and calcination temperature, which were investigated in detail. Fluorescence decay analysis reveals that the 627 nm red emission has a lifetime of ∼ 0.5 ms for both types of the phosphors.