Effect of CuO doping on structural features, optical absorption and photoluminescence behavior of ZnO-based glasses

Abstract

Glasses composed of ZnO–SiO2–B2O3–In2O3 with the addition of different content of CuO were prepared by a popular melt–quenching methodology. The effect of the addition of copper oxide in the glass network was investigated using density, FTIR spectroscopy, optical absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. By increasing the concentration of CuO, a decrease in the density is observed, indicating structural changes in the glass network. The structural building units of glasses are {mathrm{BO}}_{3},{mathrm{BO}}_{4}, and {mathrm{ZnO}}_{4} according to the FTIR spectra. The absorption spectra of these glasses reveal a distinct broad band at 744 nm due to 2{mathrm{B}}_{1mathrm{g}} → 2{mathrm{B}}_{2mathrm{g}} characteristic transition of cupric ion in the distorted octahedral sites. The optical band gap energies ({E}_{mathrm{g}}) and refractive indices of the studied glasses were also evaluated using the ASF, DASF, and Tauc techniques which revealed that (Eg) values are in gradual decrease with a rise content of CuO. The photoluminescence analysis including emission and CIE chromaticity of the prepared samples were carried out. The emission spectra supported divalent state of copper ions in a distorted octahedral geometry of the glass network upon UV excitation at 270 nm. These results may suggest the material of glass as a potential candidate in the photonics applications.