Synthesis and Luminescence Properties of a Novel Green-Yellow-Emitting Phosphor BiOCl:Pr(3+) for Blue-Light-Based w-LEDs

The development of white-light-emitting diodes (w-LEDs) makes it meaningful to develop novel high-performance phosphors excited by blue light. Herein, BiOCl:Pr(3+) green-yellow phosphors were prepared via a high-temperature solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure, luminescent properties, lifetime, thermal quenching behavior, and quantum yield were studied in detail. The BiOCl:Pr(3+) phosphors presented several emission peaks located in green and red regions, under excitation at 453 nm. The CIE coordinates could be tuned along with the changed doping concentration with fair luminescence efficiency. The results also indicated that the optimized doping concentration of Pr(3+) ions was at x = 0.0075 because of the concentration quenching behavior resulting from an intense exchange effect. When the temperature reached 150 °C, the intensity of the emission peak at 495 nm could remain at 78% of that at room temperature. The activation energy of 0.20 eV also confirmed that the BiOCl:Pr(3+) phosphor exhibited good thermal stability. All these results indicate that the prepared products have potential to be used as a high-performance green-yellow-light-emitting phosphor for blue-light-based w-LEDs.