Effect of thermal annealing on Nd2O3-doped silica powder prepared by the solgel process

• Published in: Journal of sol-gel science and technology 2008-04, Vol.46 (1), p.17-22
• Main Authors: Aghamkar, P., Duhan, S., Singh, M., Kishore, N., Sen, P. K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Annealing; Ceramics; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Colloidal gels. Colloidal sols; Colloidal state and disperse state; Composites; Exact sciences and technology; Fourier transforms; General and physical chemistry; Glass; Heat treatment; Hydrochloric acid; Inorganic Chemistry; Materials Science; Nanotechnology; Natural Materials; Neodymium; Optical and Electronic Materials; Original Paper; Photoluminescence; Scanning electron microscopy; Silicates; Silicon dioxide; Sintering (powder metallurgy); X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 0928-0707; 1573-4846
• DOI: 10.1007/s10971-008-1691-6

Nd 2 O 3 –SiO 2 binary oxide system was synthesized by the solgel method using hydrochloric acid as a catalyst. The binary oxide transformed from the amorphous phase, via intermediate oxide phase, into crystalline phase upon heat treatment in air. Characterization of the Nd 2 O 3 :SiO 2 was carried out by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Photoluminescence (PL). The effect of the annealing temperature and annealing time on the phase evolution of the binary oxide system has been discussed in detail. It was found that the annealing temperature and heat treatment duration played a pivotal role to obtained neodymium silicates and Nd 2 O 3 . At temperature 1,200 °C, the sample was sintered for 6 h and obtained Nd 2 O 3 nanocrystallites with average size ∼18 nm.