Y3Al5O12∶Eu nanophosphors were synthesized by a gel combustion method. The structure of phosphors was characterized by XRD and FTIR. YAG phase came to occur when YAG∶Eu precursors were sintered at 800 ℃, although the phase was mainly amorphous. The organic groups pyrolyzed completely and pure YAG phase was obtained in the samples sintered at 900 ℃. In the formation of YAG phase, no intermediate phases such as YAP and YAM were detected. Both 5D0 → 7F1 orange and 5D0 → 7F2 red emission could be observed for all the sintered samples. However, the emission of amorphous samples was greatly different from that of crystalline ones. The former was mainly 5D0 → 7F2 red emission, but the latter was 5D0 → 7F1 orange emission. As sintering temperature rises, the ratio of orange to red for phosphors increases. Eu could be doped up to 8% in YAG host lattice, and fluorescence quenching was absent. It indicated that the gel combustion synthesis method can increase emission intensity and quenching concentration due to a good distribution of Eu3+ activators in Y3Al5O12 matrix.
