Controlled chemical co-precipitation and solid phase synthesis, microstructure and photoluminescence of La3PO7:Eu3+ phosphors

Eu3+-doped oxy-phosphate (La3PO7:Eu3+) with monoclinic phase has been synthesized via solid phase and co-precipitation methods. The products present various regular morphologies after high temperature thermal treatment, such as bulk with holes, leaf-like flake, nano-rod and so on. All the phosphors exhibit the characteristic fluorescence of Eu ion, the electric dipole transition 5D0→7F2 of Eu3+ ions is dominant indicating that the sites of Eu3+ ions in La3PO7 have no the inversion center. Furthermore, the intensity of 5D0→7F2 increases due to the introducing of surfactant and increasing of the calcination temperature.