Optical and Magnetic Properties of Solid State Synthesized Sr3MxAl2O6 + δ ﴾M = None, Sm3+, Eu3+, Ho3+ and Yb3+) Nanomaterials

Abstract

Present work describes the synthesis of Sr3Al2O6 nano powders by one-step solid state reactions using Al﴾NO3)3.6H2O, Sr﴾C2H3O2)2 and Sr﴾NO3)2 at 800 and 900 C for 8 h. For the synthesis of Sr3MxAl2O6 + δ ﴾M = Sm3+, Eu3+, Ho3+ and Yb3+) nano powders, Al﴾NO3)3.6H2O, Sr﴾NO3)2, Eu2O3, Ho2O3 and Yb2O3 were used at 800 C for 8 h. Characterization of the as-synthesized materials was performed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) technique. The rietveld analyses data were studied to investigate the reaction conditions on the crystal phase growth and purity of the obtained materials. According to the rietveld analyses data, it was found that reaction temperature and raw materials type had important role on the crystal phase growth and purity. The data indicated that doping the lanthanide ions into Sr3Al2O6 crystal phase improved the purity of the final products. The morphologies of the synthesized materials were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) technique to study the effect of the reaction conditions on the morphology of the obtained materials. As shown by the FESEM measurements, Sr3Al2O6 nanomaterials had almost particles and porous morphology. However, the type and homogeneity of the porous structures were different. BET data revealed that the reaction time and temperature, and the raw materials type had important roles on the textural properties. The data showed that the highest specific surface area value was 5 m2/g. Vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis showed that the as-synthesized nanomaterials had ferromagnetic property. Ultraviolet–visible spectra indicated that the nanostructured Sr3Al2O6 powder had absorption in the ultraviolet and visible light regions and the direct optical band gap energies were in the range of 3.4 to 3.8 eV. The data indicated that when Eu3+ was doped into the crystal system, a sharp absorption peak was observed in the visible light region suggesting the visible light region active property.