A new disordered langbeinite-type compound, K2Tb1.5Ta0.5P3O12, and Eu3+-doped multicolour light-emitting properties.

For the first time, a new langbeinite-type phosphate, namely potassium terbium tantalum tris(phosphate), K2Tb1.5Ta0.5(PO4)3, has been prepared successfully using a high-temperature flux method and has been structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The results show that its structure can be described as a three-dimensional open framework of [Tb1.5Ta0.5(PO4)3]∞ interconnected by K+ ions. The TbIII and TaV cations in the structure are disordered and occupy the same crystallographic sites. The IR spectrum, the UV-Vis spectrum, the morphology and the Eu3+-activated photoluminescence spectroscopic properties were studied. A series of Eu3+-doped phosphors, i.e. K2Tb1.5-xTa0.5(PO4)3:xEu3+ (x = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.10), were prepared via a solid-state reaction and the photoluminescence properties were studied. The results show that under near-UV excitation, the luminescence colour can be tuned from green through yellow to red by simply adjusting the Eu3+ concentration from 0 to 0.1, because of the efficient Tb3+→Eu3+ energy-transfer mechanism.