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Synthesis and Characterization of Eu 3+ ‐Doped Sol–Gel Silica Containing Vanadium Oxide Nanotubes
Author(s) -
Lu Huijun,
Ballato John
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2006.01239.x
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocomposite , vanadium , vanadium oxide , doping , photoluminescence , nanomaterials , chemical engineering , luminescence , sol gel , transmission electron microscopy , dopant , absorption spectroscopy , scanning electron microscope , oxide , analytical chemistry (journal) , nanotechnology , composite material , optics , chemistry , optoelectronics , metallurgy , organic chemistry , physics , engineering
Vanadium oxide nanotubes (VO x ‐NTs), were successfully incorporated into transparent sol–gel‐derived silica monoliths that were also doped with Eu 3+ . Scanning electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray measurements of the doped silica specimens confirmed the existence of nanotubes in the glass matrix. The influence of VO x ‐NTs on the transmission of the sol–gel monoliths as well as the absorption and luminescence spectra of the Eu 3+ was investigated. The results imply that the inclusion of the VO x ‐NTs increases the turbidity of the monoliths through both scattering as well as absorption. Further, although less well defined in such a complex system, there also appear to be modifications to the local field around the Eu 3+ ions that affect the photoluminescence spectra. Although work remains on the effects of nanotubes on lanthanide dopants, this work provides a framework for preparing transparent nanocomposite glasses that are robust hosts to study the fundamental interactions between nanomaterials and light.