Photoluminescence properties and the self-reduction process of CaAl2Si2O8:Eu phosphor

Abstract CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 :Eu anorthite phosphor was synthesized by the traditional solid state reaction. In the air-sintered phosphor, the Eu ions were partial self-reduced to Eu 2+ , which contributed to the observation of the blue (Eu 2+ ) and the red (Eu 3+ ) emission in CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 :Eu phosphor. To further investigate the photoluminescence properties and the self-reduction mechanism of CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 :Eu phosphor, the adjustment of the valence state of Eu ions by controllable approaches was studied. In addition, CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 :Eu phosphor shows a tunable emission from reddish to bluish region under ultraviolet excitation, which implies that it could be applied as potential phosphor for near ultraviolet light emitting diode.