CaZrO3 ceramics exhibits high chemical, thermal and structural stability. However, its application as
a host for various luminophores/activators has not been clearly explored. In present study, CaZrO3
doped with Eu3+, as a potential orange-red phosphor and the effect of NH4Cl as flux during combustion
synthesis is investigated. Ca1-xZrO3:Eux (x = 0.05) nanophosphor was prepared through a low
temperature, one pot solution combustion synthesis approach using glycine as fuel. Various wt.% of
NH4Cl (wt.% = 0, 1, 3, 5, 7) as flux added to the reaction mixture and combustion reaction was
performed. X-ray diffraction results showed that the addition of flux has significant effect on the
crystallite size and the crystallinity of Ca1-xZrO3:Eux (x = 0.05) phosphor. From SEM morphology, the
particles were found to be significantly agglomerated. The extent of agglomeration varies with varying
the wt.% of flux. The photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra were recorded under similar
condition to evaluate the effect of flux on the optical properties. Interestingly, the amount of flux was
found to have significant effect on the photoluminescence emission characteristics. The
photoluminescence intensity was found to be the maximum when the flux used was 5 wt.% and further
increase in flux amount the photoluminescence intensity decreases. The mechanistic aspects of effect
of flux on the photoluminescence were also discussed.
Role of NH4Cl as Flux on Photoluminescence Properties of
Ca1-xZrO3:Eux (x = 0.05) Synthesized by Solution Combustion Route