Large enhancement of photoluminescence in SrTiO3:Pr3+ powders by fluorhydric acid treatment

We have investigated the effect of fluorhydric acid (HF) treatment on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of SrTiO3:Pr3+ powders prepared by sol–gel method. The red emission intensity increased significantly up to 18 times when the powders were subjected into a water-diluted 5% HF solution for 10 min. The origin of the PL enhancement was ascribed to the increase of oxygen vacancies in HF-treated SrTiO3:Pr3+ powders. This study also manifested that HF etching is more effective to improve the red PL intensity than vacuum-annealing for the sol–gel made SrTiO3:Pr3+ powders.