Thermoluminescent and photoluminescent studies on the phosphor material from waste compact fluorescent lamps

The aim of this work was to investigate the photoluminescent and thermoluminescent properties of the recovered phosphor powder from the CFL when it is exposed to UV radiation of 254 and 365 nm of wavelength. This study was complemented with their photoluminescent analysis. Thermoluminescent results showed that UV radiation of 254 nm induced an intense TL signal characterized by a width glow curve with two peaks located at 162 and 292 °C, while UV radiation of 365 nm induced a weak TL signal. The photoluminescent studies showed that the emission spectra of the phosphorous materials are composed by three major emissions at 451, 512 and 611 nm corresponding to Ce3+, Tb3+and Eu3+, responsible for the white light produced by these lamps.