Structural characterization and optical properties of long-lasting CaAl_2O_4:Eu~(2+),Nd~(3+) phosphors synthesized by microwave-assisted chemical co-precipitation

The present paper reported the structural and luminescent properties of Eu~(2+) and Nd~(3+) doped CaAl_2O_4 phosphor. The samples were prepared by microwave-assisted chemical co-precipitation(MA-CCP), a synthesis technique which is suitable for small and uniform particle that could be used directly without grinding. The effects of different microwave temperatures on structure and photoluminescence behavior were studied. Formation of a phosphor and phase purity were confirmed by X-ray diffraction technique(XRD) with variable microwave temperatures. XRD analysis showed that the phosphors prepared by MA-CCP method at the temperature of 750, 900oC, respectively and solid-state reaction(SSR) method at 1300oC consisted of impurities. Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage(CIE) color coordinates of CaAl_2O_4:Eu~(2+),Nd~(3+) were suitable as blue light emitting phosphor. Excitation and emission peaks of the samples prepared by different methods in this study were almost the same. The images of SEM showed that the size of the phosphors prepared by MA-CCP method reached a submicrometer.