Structure-induced change of luminescent properties in the hydrated and dehydrated YPO₄:Tb

The wet-chemistry route is used to synthesize well-crystalline hydrated YPO₄:Tb, which cannot be obtained by conventional routes. The phase transformation from the hydrated YPO₄:Tb with monoclinic churchite structure to the dehydrated YPO₄:Tb with tetragonal xenotime structure occurs in the annealing process. The structural change induced by the phase transformation results in a remarkable difference in the luminescent efficiency. The correlation of the structure with the luminescent property is well investigated. Based on these results, it is proposed that the structural control is an efficient way to modify the luminescent properties.