Growth of SnO2 nanocrystals co-doped with Eu3+ for highly enhanced photoluminescence in mesoporous silica glasses

Abstract

This study reports the growth of SnO₂ nanocrystals (NCs) in mesoporous silica glasses and its great enhancement of Eu³⁺ photoluminescence at around 590 nm wavelength-band. Significantly different energy level character of Eu³⁺ was observed using photoluminescence (PL) spectra, which was attributed to the effect of the SnO₂ crystal field. Remarkably, enhancement of Eu³⁺ as much as 116 times was achieved in the orange emission region by optimal SnO₂ NCs addition. PL excitation spectra and decay curves verify the efficient energy transfer from SnO₂ NCs to Eu³⁺. It is well understood that the highly enhanced emission originates from Eu³⁺ embedded in SnO₂ NCs and the strong energy transfer between them. Our study has not only demonstrated an effective way to enhance down-conversion PL of rare earth ions in silica glasses, but also widened the applications of semiconductor oxides such as SnO₂ NCs.