Effects of the Pechini's modified synthetic route on structural and photophysical properties of Eu3+ or Tb3+-doped LaAlO3

Abstract Herein, it is reported the Pechini's synthesis of LaAlO3:Ln3+ (Ln =  Eu3+ or Tb3+) varying doping concentration from 1 to 9 at.% to evaluate its influence on structure and luminescence. Sub-micrometric, high-crystalline and monophasic samples with crystallite size smaller than 61 nm were synthesized with activators replacing slightly-distorted LaO12 polyhedra, and occupying two non-equivalent local sites on the surface, and inside them. Upon UV excitation, Eu3+-doped phosphors emit at 620 nm while Tb3+ ones exhibit dominant wavelength within the green spectral region. The excited state lifetimes lie within 2.5–3.4 ms, and as doping percentage increases, luminescence quenching mediated by exchange coupling energy transfer occurs, leading to the 3 and the 7% as the optimal Eu3+ and Tb3+concentrations, respectively. Finally, our proposed route increases the Eu3+ 5D0→7F2 transition relative intensity, compared with others reported, ensuring that this method brings a breakthrough in the optical performance of LaAlO3-based phosphors.