Cerium-ion-doped yttrium aluminum garnet nanophosphors prepared through sol-gel pyrolysis for luminescent lighting

Luminescent Y3Al5O12: Ce3+ [yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG):Ce3+] nanoceramics (5–50 nm) have been prepared through a facile sol-gel pyrolysis route. A blueshift of about 720 cm−1 in the reflectance spectra near the absorption edge can be observed for YAG:Ce3+ nanoparticles (having an average particle size around 5 nm) with respect to the submicron powders (∼0.9 μm). Furthermore, the scope of application for this important luminescent system can be extended by isostructural substitution with heavier cations such as Ba2+. This substitution giving rise to an oxygen-vacancy defect complex, that exhibits certain size-sensitive exciton-impurity energy-transfer property in YAG:Ce3+ nanoparticles.