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Synthesis of Bi4Ge3O12 ceramic scintillators by the polymeric precursor method

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Abstract

Bismuth germanate ceramic powders were synthesized for the first time by the polymeric precursor method (Pechini’s method). Differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric techniques were used to study the decomposition of the resin precursor, which indicated a suitable calcination temperature at 600 °C. It was observed that the mass loss occurs in two main stages that are associated with two exothermic reactions. The crystalline phases of the powders were inspected by the X-ray diffraction technique after thermal treatment between 300 and 600 °C. Single phase Bi4Ge3O12 ceramic bodies were obtained after sintering at 840 °C for 10 h. The sintered ceramics presented a luminescence band emission centred at around 530 nm when excited with X-rays and UV radiation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Prof. Robert A. Jackson for grammar revision and to CAPES, CNPq, Ceramica Sergipe s/a, UFS/PAIRD, FAPITEC and FINEP for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo de Materiais Cerâmicos Avançados, Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Campus Universitário, Sao Cristovao, SE, 49.100-100, Brazil

    Fabiane Alexsandra Andrade de Jesus, Ronaldo Santos da Silva & Zélia Soares Macedo

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  1. Fabiane Alexsandra Andrade de Jesus
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  2. Ronaldo Santos da Silva
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  3. Zélia Soares Macedo
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Correspondence to Zélia Soares Macedo.

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de Jesus, F.A.A., Silva, R.S.d. & Macedo, Z.S. Synthesis of Bi4Ge3O12 ceramic scintillators by the polymeric precursor method. J Therm Anal Calorim 100, 537–541 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-009-0178-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-009-0178-1

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