Eu3+, Sm3+ Deep-Red Phosphors as Novel Materials for White Light-Emitting Diodes and Simultaneous Performance Enhancement of Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

The luminous efficiency of inorganic white light-emitting diodes, to be used by the next generation as light initiators, is continuously progressing and is an emerging interest for researchers. However, low color-rendering index (Ra), high correlated color temperature (CCT), and poor stability limit its wider application. Herein, it is reported that Sm3+- and Eu3+-doped calcium scandate (CaSc2O4 (CSO)) are an emerging deep-red-emitting material with promising light absorption, enhanced emission properties, and excellent thermal stability that make it a promising candidate with potential applications in emission display, solid-state white lighting, and the device performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The average crystal structures of Sm3+-doped CSO are studied by synchrotron X-ray data that correspond to an extremely rigid host structure. Samarium ion is incorporated as a sensitizer that enhances the emission intensity up to 30%, with a high color purity of 88.9% with a 6% increment. The impacts of hosting the sensitizer are studied by quantifying the lifetime curves. The CaSc2O4:0.15Eu(3+),0.03Sm(3+) phosphor offers significant resistance to thermal quenching. The incorporation of lanthanide ion-doped phosphors CSOE into PSCs is investigated along with their potential applications. The CSOE-coated PSCs devices exhibit a high current density and a high power conversion efficiency (15.96%) when compared to the uncoated control devices.