Tunable Optical Properties and Increased Thermal Quenching in the Blue-Emitting Phosphor Series: Ba2(Y1–xLux)5B5O17:Ce3+ (x = 0–1)

The preparation of cerium-substituted barium lutetium borate, Ba2Lu5B5O17:Ce3+, is achieved using high temperature solid state synthesis. This compound crystallizes in the Ba2Y5B5O17-type structure and shows an efficient blue emission (λmax = 447 nm) when excited by UV-light (λex = 340 nm) with a photoluminescent quantum yield near 90%, a fast luminescence decay time (<40 ns), and a thermal quenching temperature of 452 K. Further, preparing a solid solution following Ba2(Y1–xLux)5B5O17:Ce3+ (x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) confirms that all compounds are isostructural and follow Vegard's law. Substituting Y3+ for Lu3+ yields a nearly constant emission spectrum that blue-shifts by only 9 nm and has a consistent luminescence lifetime across the range prepared. The photoluminescent quantum yield (PLQY) and thermal quenching (T50) of the solid solution, however, are dramatically impacted by the composition, with the PLQY decreasing to ≈70% and the T50 dropping 49 K going from x = 1 to x = 0. These significant changes in the optical properties likely stem from enhanced structural rigidity as the larger, more polarizable Y3+ is substituted for the smaller, harder Lu3+ cation. These results highlight the importance of optimizing chemical bonding to improve a phosphor's optical properties.