Preparation and fluorescence properties of a Cr3+:γ-AlON powder by high temperature solid state reaction

gamma-AlON and Cr3+: gamma-AlON powders were successfully synthesized by high temperature solid state reaction in nitrogen atmosphere with gamma-Al2O3, Cr3+: gamma-Al2O3 and AlN as raw materials. The gamma-AlON and Cr3+: gamma-AlON powders possess uniform morphology with spinel structure and the size distribution of 50 similar to 100 nm. Cr3+ ions exist in the main lattice of gamma-AlON, which is verified by XPS and PL spectra. The excitation of the d-d energy level transition of Cr3+ ions can be attributed to the transition of 4A(2)(F-2) -> 4T(1) (F-4) (located at 430 nm) and 4A(2)(F-4) -> 4T(2) (F-4) (located at 588 nm), respectively. The luminescence peaks can be due to the defects of the matrix by the characteristic luminescence peaks of Cr3+. The Cr3+: gamma-AlON powders with luminescent performance will be a candidate for new laser materials. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.