A study of luminescence from Eu3+, Ce3+, Tb3+ and Ce3+/Tb3+ in new potassium gadolinium phosphate K3Gd5(PO4)6

New potassium gadolinium phosphate [K 3 Gd 5 (PO 4 ) 6 ] doped with Eu 3+ , Ce 3+ , Tb 3+ and co-doped with Ce 3+ and Tb 3+ phosphors were prepared by high temperature solid state synthesis. Phase purity of the powders was checked by X-ray powder diffraction. Luminescence and excitation spectra of samples were reported. In particular, the interaction mechanism between Eu 3+ ions was investigated in terms of the Inokuti–Hirayama model; it was found that the interactions between Eu 3+ can be assigned to dipole–dipole interaction. K 3 Gd 5 (PO 4 ) 6 :Eu 3+ could act as a candidate for solid state lighting due to its strong absorption band in the near-UV region (350–400 nm). The energy transfer from Ce 3+ to Tb 3+ was confirmed and the mechanism was studied using Dexter's theory; it is concluded that electric dipole–dipole interaction predominates in the energy transfer process from Ce 3+ to Tb 3+ in the K 3 Gd 5 (PO 4 ) 6 host. The energy transfer efficiency and critical distance were also investigated.