Photoluminescence properties of thenardite activated with Eu

Na2SO4:Eu phosphors were prepared by heating pure natural thenardite with EuF3 at 900 °C for 20 min in air. The photoluminescence (PL) and excitation spectra of as-prepared and γ-ray-irradiated phosphors were observed at 300 K. The PL spectrum under 394 nm excitation consisted of strong narrow bands with peaks at 579, 592, 616, 652, 697 and 741 nm, assigned to the 5D0→7FJ (J=0, 1, 2, …, 5) transitions, respectively, within Eu3+. The PL spectrum under 340 nm excitation consisted of a broad Eu2+ band with a peak at 435 nm. The excitation spectrum obtained by monitoring the violet luminescence consisted of a weak band with a peak at approximately 261 nm and a broad Eu2+ band with a peak at approximately 338 nm. The relative efficiency of the violet luminescence of the γ-ray-irradiated phosphor at the exposure of 46 kGy increased up to 3.0 times that of the unirradiated phosphor. The enhancement of violet luminescence by γ-ray irradiation was ascribed to the conversion of Eu3+ to Eu2+ in Na2SO4.