Improvement of the luminescence properties of CaTiO3:Pr obtained by modified solid-state reaction

Using tetra-n-butyl titanate and nitrates as starting materials, the red persistent phosphor CaTiO3:Pr has been successfully synthesized by modified solid-state reaction. In order to improve the luminescent properties of the phosphor, boric acid as flux regent and aluminum ion as charge compensator were added in, and the influences of partially replacing Ca2+ in CaTiO3 with Zn2+ or Mg2+ on the long persistent properties were studied. The results of luminescence spectrometer (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that a certain quantity of boric acid, Al3+, Mg2+ or Zn2+ was effective in improving the photoluminescence intensity of CaTiO3:Pr phosphor particles, and the optimum molar ratios of Al3+ and boric acid to Ca2+ were about 0.1% and 30%, respectively. The photoluminescence brightness and decay curves showed that the sample of Ca0.8Zn0.2TiO3:Pr with 0.l% Al3+ and 30% H3BO3 obtained at the sintering temperature of 900 °C exhibited the optimal luminescent properties.