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Enhanced Phase Stability and Photoluminescence of Eu 3+ Modified t ‐ZrO 2 Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Mondal Aparna,
Ram Shanker
Publication year - 2008
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.1551-2916.2007.02137.x
Subject(s) - crystallite , photoluminescence , materials science , tetragonal crystal system , amorphous solid , nanoparticle , analytical chemistry (journal) , doping , mineralogy , crystallography , nanotechnology , crystal structure , chemistry , optoelectronics , metallurgy , chromatography
Tetragonal ( t ) ZrO 2 nanoparticles have been obtained by a partial Eu 3+ →Zr 4+ substitution, synthesized using a simple oxalate method at a moderate temperature of 650°C in air. The Eu 3+ additive, 2 mol% used according to the optimal photoluminescence (PL), gives small crystallites of the sample. On raising the temperature further, the average crystallite size D grows slowly from 16 nm to a value as big as 49 nm at 1200°C. The Eu 3+ : t ‐ZrO 2 nanoparticles have a wide PL spectrum at room temperature in the visible to near‐IR regions (550–730 nm) in the 5 D 0 → 7 F J (Eu 3+ ), J =1–4, electronic transitions. The intensity of the 5 D 0 → 7 F 4 group is as large as that of the characteristic 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 group of the spectrum in the forced electric‐dipole allowed transitions. The enhanced t ‐ZrO 2 phase stability and wide PL can be attributed to the combined effects of an amorphous Eu 3+ ‐rich surface and part of the Eu 3+ doping of ZrO 2 of small crystallites.