Rare earth (Ce³⁺) activated NaMgF₃ phosphor synthesised by hydrothermal method and its optical properties

In this paper, we present an environment friendly hydrothermal process to synthesize nano/sub micro particles of the rare earth activated complex fluoride NaMgF₃ at 180 °C. The tittle compound synthesis was carried out at elevated pressure and temperature in an aqueous medium. The powder X-ray diffraction pattern was recorded to check the phase purity of the synthesised compound. Synthesized compounds were micro and nanocrystalline with orthorhombic perovskite crystal structure, space group Pcmn. In order to identify the functional groups Fourier Transform Infrared spectral analysis have been performed. The size and shape of the synthesised compounds were studied by using Field Emission - Scanning Electron Microscope images. Chemical composition of the synthesised compounds were checked by the energy - dispersive X-ray spectra. The absorption bands around 220 and 270 nm were observed which is corresponding to the electronic transition between 4f and 5d configuration of Ce³⁺. Photoluminescence emission related to the 5d→4f transitions in Ce³⁺ was observed at 324 nm. Thermoluminescence properties were studied for the X-ray irradiated samples. The glow curve kinetic parameters of activation energy (E) and frequency factor (S) were calculated using standard methods.