Sol-Gel Combustion Synthesis and Properties of Nanocrystalline TbxY1-x Al₃(BO₃)4（0≤x≤0.2）Phosphors

Single phases of TbxY1-x Al3(BO3)4（0≤x≤0.2）phosphors were synthesized by a sol-gel combustion method with citric acid as fuel and complexing agent. Our method involves only exothermic decomposition of an aqueous citrate–nitrate gel and the gel yielded nanocrystalline TbxY1-x Al3(BO3)4 phosphors at 1000°C, without any formation of intermediate phase. The optimal doping concentration of Tb3+ ions in the serials was found to be approximately 12mol%. The decomposition of the gel was investigated by TG–DTA. The product has been further characterized by X-ray powder diffractometry (XRD) and fluorescent divide spectroscopy (FDS).