Hydrothermal Synthesis of Rod Shaped Red Emitting Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺ Phosphor

Simple hydrothermal method can be applied for synthesizing rod shape Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺ phosphors. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are used for the characterizations of samples. Increase of Eu³⁺ concentration in Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺ can cause red shift in the charge transfer band (CTB) of Eu - O. The nature of Eu³⁺ surroundings is asymmetric. It is ascertained from PL emission studies. The calculation of second order crystal field parameter from PL spectra corroborates the asymmetric environment of Eu³⁺. PL emission and decay lifetime studies confirm the existence of quenching due cross-relaxation. The quantum yield for Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ (19 at.%) under 265 nm excitation is found to be 7%.