Photoluminescence properties of Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Br:RE (RE = Dy 3+ , Eu 3+ and Tb 3+ ) phosphor synthesised using solid-state method.

This study describes the luminous properties of Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Br doped with RE 3+ (RE = Dy 3+ , Eu 3+ and Tb 3+ ) synthesised using the solid-state method. The synthesised phosphor was characterised using Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence measurements. Dy 3+ -doped Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Br phosphor exhibited blue and yellow emissions at 480 and 573 nm, respectively, on excitation at 388 nm. Eu 3+ -doped Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Br phosphor exhibited orange and red emissions at 591 and 614 nm, respectively, on excitation at λ ex  = 396 nm. Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Br:Tb 3+ phosphor exhibited the strongest green emission at 547 nm on excitation at λ ex  = 380 nm. Additionally, the effect of the concentration of rare-earth ions on the emission intensity of Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Br:RE 3+ (RE 3+  = Dy 3+ , Eu 3+ and Tb 3+ ) phosphors was investigated.