Photoluminescence spectra of thenardite Na2SO4 activated with rare-earth ions, Ce3+, Sm3+, Tb3+, Dy3+ and Tm3+

Five Na2SO4:RE3+ phosphors activated with rare-earth (RE) ions (RE3+=Ce3+, Sm3+, Tb3+, Dy3+ and Tm3+) were synthesized by heating natural thenardite Na2SO4 from Ai-Ding Salt Lake, Xinjiang, China with small amounts of rare-earth fluorides, CeF3, SmF3, TbF3, DyF3 and TmF3, at 920 °C in air. The photoluminescence (PL) and optical excitation spectra of the obtained phosphors were measured at 300 and 10 K. In the PL spectrum of Na2SO4:Ce3+ at 300 K, two overlapping bands with peaks at 335 and 356 nm due to Ce3+ were first observed. Narrow bands observed in PL and excitation spectra of Na2SO4:RE3+ (RE3+=Sm3+, Tb3+, Dy3+ and Tm3+) phosphors were well identified with the electronic transitions within the 4fn (n=5, 8, 9 and 12) configurations of RE3+. The existence of excitation bands with high luminescence efficiency at wavelengths shorter than 230 nm is characteristic of Na2SO4:RE3+ (RE3+=Sm3+, Tb3+, Dy3+ and Tm3+) phosphors. The obtained results suggest that these phosphors are unfavorable as the phosphor for usual fluorescence tubes, i.e., mercury discharge tubes, but may be favorable as the phosphor for UV-LED fluorescent tubes and as cathodoluminescence, X-ray luminescence and thermoluminescence phosphors.