CaTiO 3 :Eu 3+ red nanophosphor: Low temperature synthesis and photoluminescence properties M. Shivram a,b , S.C. Prashantha c,⇑ , H. Nagabhushana d,⇑ , S.C. Sharma e , K. Thyagarajan f , R. Harikrishna g , B.M. Nagabhushana g a Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Anantapur 515 002, India b Department of Physics, VV Puram College of Science, Bangalore 560 004, India c Department of Physics, East West Institute of Technology, Bangalore 560 091, India d Centre for Nano Research (CNR), Tumkur University, Tumkur 572 103, India e B.S.Narayan center of excellance for advanced materials, Department of Mechanical Engineering, B.M.S. Institute of Technology, Yelahanka, Bangalore 560 064, India f Department of Physics, JNTUA College of Engineering, Pulivendula 516 390, India g Department of Chemistry, M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore 560 054, India highlights  Pure red emitting phosphor CaTiO 3 :Eu 3+ has been prepared by simple low temperature solution combustion method.  Dominant emission peaks of all the phosphors were located at 615 nm.  CIE chromaticity values show the phosphor is quite useful in white LEDs. graphical abstract 750 700 650 600 550 5.0x10 5 1.0x10 6 1.5x10 6 2.0x10 6 2.5x10 6 3.0x10 6 3.5x10 6 (e) (d) (c) (b) 5 D 0 7 F 4 5 D 0 7 F 3 5 D 0 7 F 2 5 D 0 7 F 1 5 D 0 7 F 0 (a) 1mol% Eu (b) 3mol% Eu (c) 5mol% Eu (d) 7mol% Eu (e) 9mol% Eu Wavelength (nm) PL Intensity (a.u) (a) article info Article history: Received 29 July 2013 Received in revised form 9 September 2013 Accepted 26 September 2013 Available online 16 October 2013 Keywords: CaTiO 3 :Eu 3+ Combustion technique TEM HRTEM Phosphor Photoluminescence abstract Nanoparticles of Eu 3+ doped (1–9 mol%) CaTiO 3 were prepared using low temperature (500 °C) solution combustion technique using metal nitrates as precursors and urea as fuel. The powder X-ray diffraction patterns of the as-formed products show single orthorhombic phase. The crystallite size was estimated using Scherrer’s method and found to be in the range 40–45 nm. The effect of Eu 3+ ions on luminescence characteristics of CaTiO 3 was studied and the results were discussed in detail. The phosphors exhibit bright red emission upon 398 nm excitation. The characteristic emission peaks recorded at 540, 593, 615, 653, 696 and 706 nm ( 5 D 0 ? 7 F j=0,1,2,3,4,5 ) were attributed to Eu 3+ ions. The electronic transition cor- responding to 5 D 0 ? 7 F 2 (615 nm) was stronger than the magnetic dipole transition 5 D 0 ? 7 F 1 of Eu 3+ ions (596 nm). The CIE chromaticity co-ordinates were calculated from emission spectra, the values (x,y) very close to NTSC standard value of red emission. Therefore, the present phosphors were highly useful for dis- play applications. Ó 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Introduction Nanophosphors were investigated considerably during the last few decades due to their potential applications in flat panel dis- plays, solar energy converters, optical amplifiers, electrolumines- cent devices, photodiodes, bio-detectors, sensors, lamp industries, 1386-1425/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2013.09.114 ⇑ Corresponding authors. Tel.: +91 9945954010 (H. Nagabhushana), tel.: +91 9886021344 (S.C. Prashantha). E-mail addresses: scphysics@gmail.com (S.C. Prashantha), bhushanvlc@gmail. com (H. Nagabhushana). Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy 120 (2014) 395–400 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/saa