White Light Emission and Enhanced Color Stability in a Single-Component Host.

Eu3+ ion can be effectively sensitized by Ce3+ ion through an energy-transfer chain of Ce3+-(Tb3+) n-Eu3+, which has contributed to the development of white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) as it can favor more efficient red phosphors. However, simply serving for WLEDs as one of the multicomponents, the design of the Ce3+-(Tb3+) n-Eu3+ energy transfer is undoubtedly underused. Theoretically, white light can be achieved with extra blue and green emissions released from Ce3+ and Tb3+. Herein, the design of the white light based on these three multicolor luminescence centers has been realized in GdBO3. It is the first time that white light is generated via accurate controls on the Ce3+-(Tb3+) n-Eu3+ energy transfer in such a widely studied host material. Because the thermal quenching rates of blue, green, and red emissions from Ce3+, Tb3+, and Eu3+, respectively, are well-matched in the host, this novel white light exhibits superior color stability and potential application prospect.