Lanthanide-activated scheelite nanocrystal phosphors prepared by the low-temperature vapor diffusion sol-gel method

A series of Eu³⁺-, Tb³⁺-, and Tm³⁺-doped CaWO₄ phosphor nanocrystals have been synthesized under benign conditions using the vapor diffusion sol-gel method. The high degree of synthetic flexibility inherent to this approach has enabled the synthesis of a CaWO₄:(Eu,Tb) dual-sensitized white light emitting nanocrystal phosphor upon commercial UV excitation at 366 nm with a long lifetime exceeding 1 ms.