A novel blue phosphor Ca3Gd2Si3O12:Ce3+ for plant growth and WLEDs

The demand for efficient plant lighting has driven the search for high-performance blue-emitting phosphors, as blue light (400–500 nm) is crucial for photosynthesis, protein synthesis, and biomass accumulation. However, existing phosphors often lack optimal spectral coverage and thermal stability. This study presents a novel garnet-type blue phosphor, Ca 3 Gd 2 Si 3 O 12 :Ce 3+ , synthesized via solid-state reaction. Under 356 nm excitation, it emits intense blue light (peak at 411 nm) with a broad FWHM of 80.91 nm, outperforming commercial phosphors like BaMgAl 10 O 17 :Eu 2+ . Its emission closely matches chlorophyll absorption, achieving overlap efficiencies of 84.14 % (chlorophyll a ) and 94.81 % (chlorophyll b ). The phosphor also exhibits excellent thermal stability (activation energy: 0.296 eV; T 50  = 387 K). Additionally, when integrated into WLEDs with red/green phosphors, Ca 3 Gd 2 Si 3 O 12 :Ce 3+ delivers warm white light (CCT = 4512 K, CRI = 92.3), demonstrating versatility in both plant growth and high-quality lighting applications. LEDs with this study's blue phosphor have higher CRI than ordinary lighting LEDs (reducing blue light harm) and a broad spectrum, better suiting plant growth compared to traditional blue plant LEDs.