Nanomaterial Host Bands Effect on the Photoluminescence Properties of Ce-Doped YAG Nanophosphor Synthesized by Sol-Gel Method

Cerium trivalent (Ce3+) doped YAG nano-sized phosphors have been successfully synthesized by sol-gel method using different annealing temperatures. The samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and steady photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the pure cubic phase YAG was formed and strongly depends on the cerium content and the annealing temperature. It was found that the grain size ranges from 30 to 58 nm depending on the calcination temperature. The YAG: Ce nanophosphors showed intense, green-yellow emission, corresponding to Ce3+ 5d1→2F5/2, 2F7/2 transitions and its photoluminescence excitation spectrum contains the two Ce3+ 4f1→5d1, 5d2 bands. The crystal filed splitting energy levels positions 5d1 and 5d2 and the emission transitions blue shift with annealing temperatures have been discussed. It was found that the Ce3+ 4f1 ground state position relative to valence band maximum of YAG host nanomaterial decreases with increasing the temperature

Silica-coating of nano-Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ synthesized by self-combustion

Y2.91Ce0.09Al5O12 is obtained by self-combustion, grinding and sol–gel coating. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence and absorption measurements were used to identify the structural and optical properties of each step of the process. The process is composed of a combination of chemical and physico-chemical processesincluding combustion and thermal steps, followed by grinding, powder dispersion by acidic passivation, stabilization of particle dispersions with citrate ligands and embedding of yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) particles into SiO2 shells usinga seeded growth process before drying. The initial state of the obtained powder is composed of 35 nm crystallites, sintered and agglomerated. The grinding step breaks the sintered bridge, while the passivation and citrate adsorption steps separate the particles by electrostatic repulsion before the silica coating. The optical characterizations are performed and compared separately for the powdered samples that represent the initial and final states of our process, and the dispersion sample represents the intermediate state of our process. The optical measurement revealed an important amount of optical defectsat the surface of the particles, compared with micrometric commercial particles. The grinding, nitric acid and citrate steps remove some of these defects. The final state of the sample still possesses lower quantum efficiency than that of a micrometric sample, but the SiO2 coating allows for a perfect separation of the particle, suitable for implementation in small devices