A New Sol-Gel Route Towards Nd3+-doped SiO2-LaF3 Glass-Ceramics for Photonic Applications

Glass-ceramic materials with composition 0.9Nd(3+)-80SiO(2)-20LaF(3) were successfully obtained and further heat-treated at 450 degrees C for 6 h. Stable and homogeneous LaF3 nanoparticle suspensions with and without Nd3+ were first prepared by a chemical route, incorporating polyvinylpyrrolidone (P...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Cruz, María Eugenia, Durán, Alicia, Balda de la Cruz, Rolindes, Fernández Rodríguez, Joaquín Manuel, Mather, Glenn C., Castro, Yolanda
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Recursos:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/51331
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/51331
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:up-conversion
crystallization
luminescence
ions
Descrição
Resumo:Glass-ceramic materials with composition 0.9Nd(3+)-80SiO(2)-20LaF(3) were successfully obtained and further heat-treated at 450 degrees C for 6 h. Stable and homogeneous LaF3 nanoparticle suspensions with and without Nd3+ were first prepared by a chemical route, incorporating polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as dispersant. The suspensions were then concentrated and characterised by XRD, HRTEM and zeta potential, confirming that LaF3 crystallises as the only phase, with particle size around 16 nm. The suspensions were incorporated in a silica sol to obtain a 0.9Nd(3+)-20LaF(3)-80SiO(2) particulate sol, xerogel and glass-ceramic. HRTEM confirmed the homogeneous incorporation of the doped nanocrystals into the SiO2 matrix without modification of the nanoparticle structure. Rietveld refinement was used to determine the crystallinity and quantity of LaF3 nanoparticles present in the glass-ceramic after treatment of the particulate sol at 450 degrees C for 6 h. Luminescence measurements of near infrared Nd3+ ion emissions in the lanthanum fluoride nanoparticles and SiO2-LaF3 glass-ceramic showed well-structured emission spectra with lifetimes similar to those of theoretical Nd+3 in LaF3 crystals