Influence of calcination temperature on synthesis and photoluminescence properties of Eu3+-doped La2Zr2O7 particles

Highlights: •Eu3+-doped La2Zr2O7 particles show a defect fluorite structure. •The crystallinity of the products is decided by the calcination temperature. •The degree of crystallization influences the structure of the PL spectra. •PL spectra of Eu3+-doped La2Zr2O7 are intense and have a clear rule. •Characteristic peaks correspond to f–f transition 5D0–7FJ (J = 1, 2, 3, 4) of Eu3+. -- Abstract: A simple and mild chemical co-precipitation and calcination method has been used to prepare (La1−xEux)2Zr2O7 (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.100) particles in different crystallization states. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The calcination temperature is closely related to the crystallinity of the products. PL spectra display that the characteristic peaks of (La1−xEux)2Zr2O7 correspond to the f–f transition 5D0–7FJ (J = 1, 2, 3, and 4) of Eu3+. The influence of the degree of crystallization on structure of PL spectra was proposed. The variations in intensity of PL spectra for different activation mechanisms were also discussed