Peculiar feature of KCl + SbCl₃ phosphors: PL and XRD studies

Photoluminescence of antimony-activated potassium chloride prepared by a mechanical grinding method has been reported. The non-coincidence of the excitation and diffuse absorption band has been found as a result of the peculiar nature of the mixed phosphor, which suggests the different nature of the luminescent centers present in the phosphor. This difference in the nature of the diffuse absorption spectra and excitation spectra has been attributed to the Sb³⁺ and Sb⁵⁺ ions in the KCl+SbCl₃ host lattice. Photoluminescence intensity has been strongly enhanced by reducing the temperature to the liquid nitrogen temperature. The powder diffraction pattern obtained from the XRD analysis shows the presence of complexes over the surface.