Phase Evolution, Powder Morphology and Photoluminescence Behavior of Europium Ion Doped Zinc Oxide and Zinc Oxid-Zinc Borate Powders

Abstract

Phosphor materials have performed as a potential candidate in the field of lighting applications. So, in this present work zinc oxide (ZnO) and mixture of ZnO and zinc borate powders were synthesized via borohydride method using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as a precipitating agent. Thermal behavior of as-synthesized powders was characterized using DSC-TG. In addition, the experimental condition was optimized by varying the parameters such as number of washing and calcination temperature to produce pure ZnO and mixture of ZnO and zinc borate. Moreover, effect of number of washing and precursor salts (such as zinc acetate and zinc chloride) on the phase evolution of ZnO or zinc borate during calcination process was studied in detail. The borohydride derived ZnO-based materials have been used as a host material, and it was doped with 10 mol % trivalent europium (Eu+3) ions for further studying the structure, microstructure and photoluminescence behavior. Structure and powder morphology was studied using XRD and FESEM, respectively. Optical properties of borohydride derived Eu-doped ZnO based powders was studied using UV-vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The photoluminescence behavior of Eu-doped pure ZnO as well as Eu-doped ZnO-zinc borate sample was analyzed at an excitation wavelengths of 254 nm, 365nm, and 390 nm. The present research work suggests the potential of borohydride method for the development of Eu-doped pure ZnO and Eu-doped ZnO-zinc borate powders and further proposes the potential of these materials in the field of lighting applications.