Phellodendron chinense Schneid: A novel yellow-emitting luminescent material for white light-emitting diodes

To facilitate the next generation of environmental material for white light emitting diodes, the discovery of natural luminesce is essential. In this study, we disclose a rare-earth free and yellow-emission phosphor, Phellodendron, which could be both excited by near ultraviolet light and blue light. The new yellow phosphor is obtained by extraction of Phellodendron chinense Schneid. The emission wavelength, full width at half maximum and CIE coordinates of extracted Phellodendron are 540 nm, 120 nm and (0.41, 0.55), respectively. The corresponding luminescent properties of Phellodendron are characterized by PL, PLE, reflection spectra, FITR and decay lifetime. Surprising thing is luminous intensity of Phellodendron phosphors excited at 380 nm was stronger than YAG:Ce phosphor by more than 139%. In addition, we firstly introduce the yellow phosphor in white LED fabrication by combining blue chip and Y₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce³⁺ phosphor, to create warm white. For comparison, red-emission CaAlSiN₃:Eu²⁺ phosphors are also introduced for LED package tests. The results demonstrate that Phellodendron is a potential candidate for white LED applications.