In summary, BiPO4:Eu3þ phosphors with various structures
and morphologies were synthesized by a facile hydrothermalmethod. It was also found that the cation/anion molar ratio
intensively affects the structure, morphology and luminescence
properties of BiPO4:Eu3þ phosphors. Hexagonal nanoparticles,
monoclinic octahedron-like and monoclinic rod-like BiPO4:Eu3þ
were obtained by adjusting the cation/anion molar ratio. The
enhanced luminescence properties of the monoclinic rod-like
BiPO4:Eu3þ may be attributed to the high crystallinity. Furthermore,
the strongest red emission peak located at 595 nm under
395 nm near UV light excitation is observed and the corresponding
CIE chromaticity coordinates is calculated to be (0.6270,
0.3726). Therefore, the BiPO4:Eu3þ may be a potential red
emitting phosphor for white LEDs. In addition, this facile
synthesis strategy may be extended to prepare other phosphate
functional materials