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 Pb5 (PO4 )3 Br doped with RE3+ (RE = Dy3+ , Eu3+ and Tb3+ ) synthesised using the solid-state method. The synthesised phosphor was characterised using Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence measurements. Dy3+ -doped Pb5 (PO4 )3 Br phosphor exhibited blue and yellow emissions at 480 and 573 nm, respectively, on excitation at 388 nm. Eu3+ -doped Pb5 (PO4 )3 Br phosphor exhibited orange and red emissions at 591 and 614 nm, respectively, on excitation at λex  = 396 nm. Pb5 (PO4 )3 Br:Tb3+ phosphor exhibited the strongest green emission at 547 nm on excitation at λex  = 380 nm. Additionally, the effect of the concentration of rare-earth ions on the emission intensity of Pb5 (PO4 )3 Br:RE3+ (RE3+  = Dy3+ , Eu3+ and Tb3+ ) phosphors was investigated.