A rare-earth phosphor containing one-dimensional chains identified through combinatorial methods

An unusual luminescent inorganic oxide, Sr 2 CeO 4 , was identified by parallel screening techniques from within a combinatorial library of more than 25,000 members prepared by automated thin-film synthesis. A bulk sample of single-phase Sr 2 CeO 4 was prepared, and its structure, determined from powder x-ray diffraction data, reveals one-dimensional chains of edge-sharing CeO 6 octahedra, with two terminal oxygen atoms per cerium center, that are isolated from one another by Sr 2+ cations. The emission maximum at 485 nanometers appears blue-white and has a quantum yield of 0.48 ± 0.02. The excited-state lifetime, electron spin resonance, magnetic susceptibility, and structural data all suggest that luminescence originates from a ligand-to-metal Ce 4+ charge transfer.