Growth of SnO 2 nanocrystals co-doped with Eu 3+ for highly enhanced photoluminescence in mesoporous silica glasses

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Materials for optical and electronic devices, 2019-02, Vol.7 (6), p.1568-1574
• Main Authors: Chen, Ping, Mao, Yiwei, Hou, Shaodong, Chen, Yang, Liu, Xiaofen, Lou, Yang, Chen, Aichen, Yang, Luyun, Li, Jinyan, Dai, Nengli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/C8TC04457K

This study reports the growth of SnO 2 nanocrystals (NCs) in mesoporous silica glasses and its great enhancement of Eu 3+ photoluminescence at around 590 nm wavelength-band. Significantly different energy level character of Eu 3+ was observed using photoluminescence (PL) spectra, which was attributed to the effect of the SnO 2 crystal field. Remarkably, enhancement of Eu 3+ as much as 116 times was achieved in the orange emission region by optimal SnO 2 NCs addition. PL excitation spectra and decay curves verify the efficient energy transfer from SnO 2 NCs to Eu 3+ . It is well understood that the highly enhanced emission originates from Eu 3+ embedded in SnO 2 NCs and the strong energy transfer between them. Our study has not only demonstrated an effective way to enhance down-conversion PL of rare earth ions in silica glasses, but also widened the applications of semiconductor oxides such as SnO 2 NCs.