Tuning the optical and photoluminescence properties of high efficient Eu3+-doped KY3F10 phosphors by different synthetic approaches

Abstract Eu3+-doped KY3F10 materials with a dopant content between 0 and 5 mol% were prepared based on the nominal composition K(Y3-xEux)F10 using different synthetic routes. The reaction conditions have been proven to be critical factors for the characteristics of the final products: morphology, size and crystallinity. As a result, noticeable changes in their photoluminescence spectra and lifetimes were observed. Quantum cutting processes or similar energy transfers between Eu3+ ions allowed obtaining high quantum efficiencies, while the analysis of the Ω 2 Judd-Ofelt parameter suggested that the crystal field of Eu3+ was very similar in all the compositions. A well-designed synthesis of Ln3+-doped fluorides can provide a full range of opportunities to explore new phenomena. Thus, this study highlights the complexity of the fluoride-based systems, which are exceptional candidates for doping with luminescent lanthanide ions and have very important characteristics for their future application in bioanalytics, biomedics or photonics. Indeed, the color-tunable emissions of the phosphors, which vary from orangish to yellow, could be interesting for their application in white light-emitting diodes through their combination with blue chips.