Abstract
Neodymium(III) oxide nanocrystals prepared by an inverse microemulsion technique have been dispersed in sol-gel titania/(γ-glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane composite thin films at low temperature. Transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction were used to characterize the phosphor nanoparticles and show that the neodymium(III) oxide nanoparticles have a nanocrystal structure and the size of the nanoparticles is in the range from 5 to 60 nm. An intense up-conversion emission in violet (399 nm) color from neodymium(III) oxide nanocrystals upon excitation with a yellow light (577 nm) has been observed. Two ultraviolet emissions at 347 and 372 nm and a blue emission at 466 nm have also been observed, and those are assigned to electronic transitions appropriately. A relatively strong room-temperature photoluminescence emission at 1064 nm corresponding to the 4F3/2 → 4I11/12 transition of neodymium ion has been measured as a function of the heat treatment temperature. In addition to this emission, two other emissions at 890 and 1336 nm have also been observed. Especially, a clear shoulder peak at 1145 nm, which could probably be resulting from the host matrix, was observed in all measured samples, and this shoulder peak reached a maximum intensity after a heat treatment at 300 °C.
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Que, W., Hu, X., Gan, L.H. et al. Preparation and luminescence properties of neodymium(iii) oxide nanocrystals dispersed in sol-gel titania/(γ-glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane composite thin films. Journal of Materials Research 17, 1399–1405 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2002.0208
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2002.0208