Mixed fuel approach for the fabrication of TiO2:Ce3+ (1–9 mol%) nanophosphors: Applications towards wLED and latent finger print detection

Abstract

TiO2:Ce3+ (1–9 mol%) nanophosphors (NPs) were prepared by solution combustion method using combination of fuels. PXRD studies of pure and doped samples exhibit rutile and anatase phases respectively. SEM results indicate that the particles were found to be nearly spherical in nature. The energy band gap (Eg) of pure and doped samples was found to be in the range 3.10–3.23 eV. The active vibrational Raman modes observed at ∼ 141, 446 and 608 cm−1 were corresponds to B1g, Eg and A1g respectively. The mode at ∼ 229 cm−1 was due to second order effect that confirms the rutile phase of TiO2. The CIE and CCT results of the doped TiO2 shows that this product exhibits green colour (CIE-coordinates x = 0.3649, y = 0.4023) and was suitable for wLEDs which can be used for household applications. The optimized product was further utilized for the visualization of latent finger prints (LFPs) on various porous and non- porous surfaces. The results reveal that, all the levels (I–III) of ridge feature were clearly visualized under normal light indicating that the powder was a reliable and promising labeling agent for LFPs detection as well as wLED applications.