Preparation and luminescent properties of Eu-doped transparent glass-ceramics containing SrF_2 nanocrystals

摘要

Transparent glass-ceramics containing SrF_2 nanocrystals were fabricated by melt-quenching and subsequent heating of glass with a composition of 50SiO_2-10Al_2O_3-20ZnF_2-20SrF _2. X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to investigated the microstructure of the SrF_2 glass-ceramics. Results show that SrF_2 nanocrystals were homogeneously precipitated among the aluminosilicate glass matrix, and the mean size of the SrF_2 nanocrystals was about 20 nm, and Eu ~(3+) ions partition mainly into the precipitated SrF_2 nanocrystals after crystallization. The glass-ceramics exhibited intense red emission corresponding to the ~5D_0 → ~7F_J (J = 0-4) transitions of Eu~(3+) ions under 393 nm excitation. A significant Eu~(3+) luminescence enhancement by a factor of about nine times was observed after crystallization. Besides, the obvious stark splitting emissions, the low forced electric dipole ~5D_0 → ~7 F_2 transition, and the long decay lifetimes of Eu~(3+) ions also revealed the partition of Eu~(3+) ions into low phonon energy SrF_2 nanocrystals. Our results indicate the SrF_2 based fluorosilicate glass-ceramics is an excellent host for trivalent lanthanide ion doping and may find applications in photonics.