Novel mixed metal borate (NaCaR(BO3)2) compounds: Synthesis, structure, and light-emitting properties

The borate structures in the formulation of NaCaR(BO 3 ) 2 (R= La III , Ce III , Nd III , Sm III , and Er III ) synthesized within the scope of the study are different from the borates available in the literature. In the synthesis of mixed metal borates containing three different cations, the acetate salts of the cations were preferred by the solid-state method. Mixed metal borates are compounds formed by a borate molecule and two or more metal cations. In the structure of the synthesized mixed metal borates, alkali metal cations are coordinated by six oxygen atoms. Additionally, alkaline earth metal (AEM) cations are coordinated by nine oxygen atoms, and rare earth metal (REM) cations are coordinated by six oxygen atoms. Recently, it has been seen that borate materials have been extensively included in research due to their structural diversity and functionality. The main objective of this study is to synthesize new types of mixed metal borate compounds and investigate their structural properties, given the importance of borate compounds in both industrial and research fields. RE orthoborates are colorless when prepared from pure raw materials, but RE ions may impart their own colors due to f-f or d-f transitions. Structures containing isolated boron groups (BO 3 3- ) are attracting attention due to their potential for use across the entire spectrum, from visible light to the deep ultraviolet range. Mixed metal borates can be considered as potential materials for improving the luminescence efficiency, time stability, lifetime, color purity performance, etc., of plasma display panels. In this study, we examined the mixed metal borate compounds using different methods like powder X-ray analysis (P-XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy.