Upconversion and downconversion luminescence properties of Er 3+ doped NBT ceramics synthesized via hydrothermal method

Abstract Er3+-doped Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (Er-doped NBT) ceramics were prepared via a hydrothermal method. High sintering active Er-doped NBT nano cubic particles with perovskite structure were synthesized at hydrothermal condition of 200 °C for 24 h in 12 M NaOH solution, which were self-assembled via in situ crystallization mechanism by the initially as-grown nanowires. The Er-doped NBT ceramics sintered at 1100 °C for 2 h exhibit pure rhombohedral perovskite structure, high densification and rather homogenous microstructure morphology. Under 488 nm light excitation, the strong green emission peaks centering at 530 nm and 550 nm and the weak red emission peaks locating at 665 nm and 735 nm are excited, which can be attributed to the 2H11/2, 4S3/2, 4F9/2 and 4I9/2 → 4I15/2 transitions, respectively. The maximum emission intensity is obtained when the Er doping content reaches 1.0 mol%. A strong upconversion emission peak centering around 550 nm in green light range is excited under 800 nm light excitation, which is correlated with the 4S3/2 → 4I15/2 transition.