Luminescence Properties of Dual Valence Eu Doped Nano-crystalline BaF2 Embedded Glass-ceramics and Observation of Eu2+ → Eu3+ Energy Transfer

Europium doped glass-ceramics containing BaF₂ nano-crystals have been prepared by using the controlled crystallization of melt-quenched glasses. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy have confirmed the presence of cubic BaF₂ nano-crystalline phase in glass matrix in the ceramized samples. Incorporation of rare earth ions into the formed crystalline phase having low phonon energy of 346 cm⁻¹ has been demonstrated from the emission spectra of Eu³⁺ ions showing the transitions from upper excitation states ⁵D_J (J = 1, 2, and 3) to ground states for the glass-ceramics samples. The presence of divalent europium ions in glass and glass-ceramics samples is confirmed from the dominant blue emission corresponding to its 5d-4f transition under an excitation of 300 nm. Increase in the reduction of trivalent europium (Eu³⁺) ions to divalent (Eu²⁺) with the extent of ceramization is explained by charge compensation model based on substitution defect mechanisms. Further, the phenomenon of energy transfer from Eu²⁺ to Eu³⁺ ion by radiative trapping or re-absorption is evidenced which increases with the degree of ceramization. For the first time, the reduction of Eu³⁺ to Eu²⁺ under normal air atmospheric condition has been observed in a BaF₂ containing oxyfluoride glass-ceramics system.