Eu3+-doped wide band gap Zn2SnO4 semiconductor nanoparticles: Structure and luminescence
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Barcelona (Spain)
- Univ. of Novi Sad, Novi Sad (Serbia)
- Univ. of Houston, Houston, TX (United States)
- Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Barcelona (Spain)
Nanocrystalline Zn2SnO4 powders doped with Eu3+ ions were synthesized via a mechanochemical solid-state reaction method followed by postannealing in air at 1200 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies provide convincing evidence for the incorporation of Eu3+ ions into the host matrix on noncentrosymmetric sites of the cubic inverse spinel lattice. Microstructural analysis shows that the crystalline grain size decreases with the addition of Eu3+. Formation of a nanocrystalline Eu2Sn2O7 secondary phase is also observed. Luminescence spectra of Eu3+-doped samples show several emissions, including narrow-band magnetic dipole emission at 595 nm and electric dipole emission at 615 nm of the Eu3+ ions. Excitation spectra and lifetime measurements suggest that Eu3+ ions are incorporated at only one symmetry site. According to the crystal field theory, it is assumed that Eu3+ ions participate at octahedral sites of Zn2+ or Sn4+ under a weak crystal field, rather than at the tetrahedral sites of Zn2+, because of the high octahedral stabilization energy for Eu3+. Activation of symmetry forbidden (IR-active and silent) modes is observed in the Raman scattering spectra of both pure and doped samples, indicating a disorder of the cation sublattice of Zn2SnO4 nanocrystallites. These results were further supported by the first principle lattice dynamics calculations. The spinel-type Zn2SnO4 shows effectiveness in hosting Eu3+ ions, which could be used as a prospective green/red emitter. As a result, this work also illustrates how sustainable and simple preparation methods could be used for effective engineering of material properties.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1330001
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5900-67318
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Physical Chemistry. C, Vol. 120, Issue 33; ISSN 1932-7447
- Publisher:
- American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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