A novel self activated K2XV2O7 (X = Mg and Zn) pyrovanadate green phosphor: Systematic characterization and time resolved photoluminescence

Novel self activated green phosphors; K₂ZnV₂O₇ (KZV) and K₂MgV₂O₇ (KMV) have been prepared and characterized in details. Both KZV and KMV were prepared by solid state reaction and systematically characterized by a number of techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed Infrared (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy (TRPLS). XRD studies confirm tetragonal melilite type layered phase for both of them. The presence of pyrovanadate group in both is supported by FTIR and Raman spectroscopic investigations. Raman bands of KMV are blue shifted w.r.t to KZV which may be due to shorter bond lengths of MgO compared to ZnO and lower atomic weight of magnesium compared to zinc. DRS measurements indicated the optical band gap of KMV and KZV are 3.14 and 3.12 eV, respectively. Optical measurements on these samples show the emission of green color on ultra violet light irradiation. The origin of such emission is attributed to electronic transition (charge transfer) from filled 2p orbital of oxygen ion (O²⁻) to vacant 3d orbital of vanadium ion (V⁵⁺). In KZV there are dual emission band (PL1 and PL2) which are respectively attributed to ³T₂ → ¹A₁ and ³T₁ → ¹A₁transition, and the emission zone varies slightly compared to KMV. KZV emits bluish green (cool green) where KMV emits in yellowish green (warm green) region. This is indeed an important step towards realization of cost effective rare earth free luminescence material. It is also oberved that PL intensity of KZV is very high compared to KMV which is supported by the lifetime measurements.     

Doping profiles from the capacity-voltage (C–V) characteristics of the [111] Si(p) single crystals doped by the In+ -ion-implantation

The ²³⁵U(n, f) cross-section has been measured after the installation of a liquid nitrogen cooled methane moderator at GELINA. The results are compared with previous data, and the influence of the cross section shape on the Westcott gf-factor is discussed.     

Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots for the determination of acetone by phosphorescence attenuation

Quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly used as highly valuable fluorescent biomarkers and as sensitive (bio)chemical probes. Interestingly, if certain metal impurities are incorporated during the NPs synthesis, phosphorescent QDs with analytical potential can be obtained.     

Spectroscopic investigations of 1.06 μm emission in Nd-doped alkali niobium zinc tellurite glasses

Thermal, structural and optical properties of Nd³⁺ ions in tellurite glass (TeO₂-ZnO-Na₂O-Li₂O-Nb₂O₅) have been investigated. Differential thermal analysis revealed reasonably good forming tendency of the glass composition. FTIR spectra were used to analyze the functional groups present in the glass. Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters were derived from the absorption spectrum and used to calculate the radiative lifetime, branching ratio and stimulated emission cross-section of the ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_9/2, _{11/2, 13/2} transitions. The quantum efficiency of the ⁴F_3/2 level is comparable as well as higher than the typical value of the other tellurite based glasses. The decay from the ⁴F_3/2 level is found to be single exponential for different concentrations of Nd³⁺ ions with a shortening of lifetime with increasing concentration. The experimental values of branching ratio and saturation intensity of ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_11/2 transition indicate the favourable lasing action with low threshold power.     

Photoinduced oxygen dynamics in lyophilized hemoglobin

Reversible laser induced deoxygenation in the lyophilized phase of hemoglobin is demonstrated by means of resonant Raman scattering, luminescence, and optical transmission. Specific Raman modes, which are both sensitive to the spin states of Fe(II) in the hemes and resonant in the visible, are monitored as a function of time to evaluate the effect of the illuminating laser. These modes act as in-situ markers of the oxygen content of the protein. The reversible photoinduced deoxygenation can be observed through both the Raman spin-markers and the optical transmission experiments. In the former, reversible changes in the intensities of specific Raman modes are observed, while in the latter, the oscillator strength of the two main absorptions of oxyhemoglobin in the visible are seen to vary accordingly. The luminescence in lyophilized hemoglobin is found to have at least two different contributions, (i) a resonant component with the Raman modes and; (ii) a nonresonant contribution, which increases at high input laser powers and eventually masks the Raman signals. The nonresonant contribution is the luminescence of the photoproduct achieved by thermal denaturation of the protein and remains standing as a permanent nonreversible damage in the illuminated spot. Semiempirical electronic calculations of the wavefunction and total energy of the iron porphyrin reveal the underlying physical origin of the laser induced deoxygenation process in the hemes and are also presented.     

Photoluminescence and gamma-ray irradiation of SrAl2O4:Euand Y2O3:Eu phosphors

Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ phosphor is a very attractive material for use as a red phosphor in many fields. SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺ belongs to long lasting phosphor (LLP) and it is a useful bluish-green luminescence material, which can also be a promising candidate as a simple and easy-to-use radiation detection element for visual display of two dimensional radiation distributions. In the present study, both these two kinds of phosphors were synthesized using high temperature solid state reactions. In our work, the influence of gamma-ray irradiation on the properties of these two kinds of phosphors was studied by comparing photoluminescence, brightness and the decay curve of unirradiated and gamma-ray-irradiated samples. Conclusions from the present work can be briefly summarized as follows. In irradiated samples, the brightness is decreased without sensible change in the wavelength distribution of the luminescence spectrum and in the decay kinetic upon gamma exposure. Moreover, the emission due to Eu³⁺→Eu²⁺ conversion in Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ phosphors was not observed in our sample after irradiation to high exposure. Also the brightness of SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺ phosphor turned out to decrease after the exposition to ionizing radiation while the luminescence wavelength distribution remained unchanged. The reason for the effect of gamma-ray irradiation on the properties of phosphors is also discussed in the paper.     

The luminescence of CaYBO4:RE (REEu, Gd, Tb, Ce) in VUV-visible region

Phosphors CaYBO₄:RE³⁺ (RE=Eu, Gd, Tb, Ce) were synthesized with the method of solid-state reaction at high temperature, and their vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)-visible luminescent properties in VUV-visible region were studied at 20 K. In CaYBO₄, it is confirmed that there are two types of lattice sites that can be substituted by rare-earth ions. The host excitation and emission peaks of undoped CaYBO₄ are very weak, which locate at about 175 and 350-360 nm, respectively. The existence of Gd³⁺ can efficiently enhance the utilization of host absorption energy and result in a strong emission line at 314 nm. In CaYBO₄, Eu³⁺ has typical red emission with the strongest peak at 610 nm; Tb³⁺ shows characteristic green emission, of which the maximum emission peak is located at 542 nm. The charge transfer band of CaYBO₄:Eu³⁺ was observed at 228 nm; the co-doping of Gd³⁺ and Eu³⁺ can obviously sensitize the red emission of Eu³⁺. The fluorescent spectra of CaYBO₄:Ce³⁺ is very weak due to photoionization; the co-addition of Ce³⁺-Tb³⁺ can obviously quench the luminescence of Tb³⁺.     

Synthesis and luminescent properties of nanoparticles GdCaAl3O7:RE (RE=Eu, Tb) via the sol-gel method

By using metal nitrates as starting materials and citric acid as complexing agent, GdCaAl₃O₇:Eu³⁺ and GdCaAl₃O₇:Tb³⁺ powder phosphors were prepared by a citrate-gel method. Thermal analysis (TG-DTG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), photoluminescence excitation and emission, as well as kinetic decays were employed to characterize the resulting samples. The results of the XRD indicated the precursor samples began to crystallize at 800 °C and the crystallinity increased with elevation the annealing temperature. TEM images showed that the phosphor particles were basically of spherical shape, with good dispersion about a particle size of around 40-70 nm. Upon excitation with UV irradiation, it is shown that there is a strong emission at around 617 nm corresponding to the forced electric dipole ⁵D₀-⁷F₂ transition of Eu³⁺, and at around 543 nm corresponding to the ⁵D₄-⁷F₅ transition of Tb³⁺. The dependence of photoluminescence intensity on Eu³⁺ (or Tb³⁺) concentration and annealing temperature were also studied in detail.     

Synthesis and luminescent properties of Y6W2O15:Eu phosphors

In this paper, a novel phosphor, Y₆W₂O₁₅:Eu³⁺ was synthesized by thermal decomposition and phase transition of its decatungstate gel precursor. With stepwise increase of temperature to 750 °C, a crystalline phase of Y₆W₂O₁₅:Eu³⁺forms that gives intense red emission when excited at 466 nm, the emission is attributed to the Eu³⁺ ions transitions from ⁵D₀ excited states to ⁷F_J (J=0-4) ground states. The long excitation wavelength proves the Eu³⁺ transition follows the photoexcitation of the oxygen-metal (O→W lmct) charge transfer bands in yttrium tungstate. Some structural information regarding Y₆W₂O₁₅ provided by luminescence is in accord with that characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The long-wavelength excitation properties of this material may find application in the production of red phosphors for white light-emitting diodes (LEDs).     

A [Cyclentetrakis(methylene)]tetrakis[2‐hydroxybenzamide] Ligand That Complexes and Sensitizes Lanthanide(III) Ions

The synthesis of the cyclen derivative H₄ L ¹ ?2 HBr containing four 2‐hydroxybenzamide groups is described. The spectroscopic properties of the Ln^III conplexes of L ¹ (Ln=Gd, Tb, Yb, and Eu) reveal changes of the UV/VIS‐absorption, circular‐dichroism‐absorption, luminescence, and circularly polarized luminescence spectra. It is shown that at least two metal‐complex species are present in solution, whose relative amounts are pH dependent. At pH>8.0, an intense long‐lived emission is observed (for [Tb L ¹ ] and [Yb L ¹ ]), while at pH<8.0, a weaker, shorter‐lived species predominates. Unconventional Ln^III emitters (Pr, Nd, Sm, Dy, and Tm) were sensitized in basic solution, both in the VIS and in the near‐IR, to measure the emission of these ions.