Rare-Earth-Free Barium Borostannate with Deep-Blue Light Emission

Playing a crucial role in light-emitting
diode (LED) illumination
sources, the blue light-emitting materials are commonly obtained by
doping rare-earth metal ions. Considering the high price, non-renewable
supply, and unstable oxidation state of rare-earth metal ions, developing
economically and environmentally amicable as well as steady blue light-emitting
materials is of great significance. Herein, we have proposed a new
structural design strategy of introducing Sn4+ cations
into borates and have successfully constructed a novel barium borostannate,
Ba7Sn­(BO3)6. Notably, this is the
first SnO6-activated rare-earth-free deep-blue light-emitting
borostannate with extremely high emission energy. By combining Ba7Sn­(BO3)6 with other commercial phosphors,
a series of white LED devices were successfully fabricated. This promising
material will provide a new approach in the development of LED applications.