Generalized wet-chemical processing of phosphor monospheres and the effects of composition on photoluminescence

Basic carbonate monospheres of various lanthanide combinations are successfully synthesized by the urea-based homogeneous precipitation technique, which are then converted into well dispersed phosphor particles that emit diverse colours. Sequential precipitation is commonly observed for these mixed cation systems, calling for adequate annealing of the basic carbonate precursors to attain cation homogenization in the final oxide particles and thus better luminescence, through eliminating localized concentration quenching of luminescence. It is shown that, owing to their excellent dispersion and uniform size, the phosphor spheres are readily assembled into close-packed luminescent films, allowing their wide applications in white LEDs, plasma display panels (PDPs), and field emission displays (FEDs).