Unusual Red-Shift and Enhanced Photoluminescence of BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇:Eu²⁺ Phosphor Under Ultraviolet A Excitation for Modern Lighting Systems

An unconventional red-shift but enhanced photoluminescence (PL) under ultraviolet A (UV-A) irradiation of Eu²⁺ doped Barium Magnesium Aluminate (BAM) phosphor prepared in both bulk and nanoforms useful for modern lighting applications has been presented. The solid-state reaction and solution combustion approaches were used for the preparation of phosphors with post-annealing step in reduced atmosphere. A significant broad blue-green (˜500 nm) PL associated with the transition of Eu²⁺ from 4f ⁶ 5d¹ excited state to the 4f ⁷ ground state has been observed. The observed shifts and PL intensities were found to be extremely reliant on the thermal processing parameters during the synthesis of phosphor/nanophosphormaterials. It’s also important to note that the size of the phosphor particles have significant role in defining the red-shift of PL due to quantum confinement effect. Detailed structural and morphological characterizations were also done in this paper. The results are promising and suggest that the BAM phosphor is highly desirable for enhancing the brightness levels in modern lighting and display systems.