Integrated chemical process for exothermic wave synthesis of high luminance YAG:Ce phosphors

In this paper, high-luminance yellow-emitting Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ phosphor (YAG:Ce) microparticles were prepared in a solid flame using a 1.425Y2O3+2.5Al2O3+0.15CeO2+k(KClO3+urea)+mNH4F precursor mixture (here k is the number of moles of the KClO3+urea red-ox mixture, and m is the number of moles of NH4F). The self-sustaining combustion process for the entire reaction sample was provided by the heat generated from the KClO3+urea mixture. Parametric studies demonstrated that the maximum temperature in the combustion wave varied from 885 to 1200 °C for k=2.0–3.0 mole and m=0–1.5 mole. X-ray analysis results showed that the product obtained in the solid flame consisted of Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ and KCl phases. Therefore, after dissolving potassium chloride in distillated water, pure-phase YAG:Ce phosphor powder was obtained. The as-prepared YAG:Ce phosphor particles had diameters of 10–25 μm and good dispersity and exhibited luminescence properties comparable to those of YAG:Ce phosphor powders prepared by conventional high-temperature processing.