Luminescent properties of MMgP2O7:Eu3+ (M=Ca, Sr, Ba) phosphor

A series of red phosphors Eu3+-doped MMgP2O7 (M=Ca, Sr, Ba) were synthesized by solid-state reaction method. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of pure CaMgP2O7, SrMgP2O7 and BaMgP2O7 phase. Photoluminescence spectra of MMgP2O7 (M=Ca, Sr, Ba):Eu3+ phosphors showed a strong excitation peak at around 400 nm, which was coupled with the characteristic emission (350-400 nm) from UV light-emitting diode. The CaMgP2O7:Eu3+, SrMgP2O7:Eu3+ and BaMgP2O7:Eu3+ phosphors showed strong emission bands peaking at 612, 593 and 587 nm, respectively. Due to the difference of the ion sizes between Ba2+ (0.142 nm), Sr2+ (0.126 nm), Ca2+ (0.112 nm), Mg2+ (0.072 nm) and Eu3+ (0.107 nm), Eu3+ ions were expected to substitute for different sites in CaMgP2O7, SrMgP2O7 and BaMgP2O7 lattice.