Optical properties of AIE organic chromophores embedded erbium-doped glass composites fabricated by spark plasma sintering

Abstract

Encapsulation strategies can isolate the organic chromophores and prevent chemical or photochemical degradation. Inorganic transparent glass matrix has excellent utility as encapsulation matrices. Although the sol-gel method can make this encapsulation, the unclear sol-gel synthetic mechanism limits the synthesis of multi-component glass whose properties can be modified. A novel technique to encapsulate organic chromophores within multi-component glasses is required. In this letter, an organic chromophore was successfully encapsulated within a multi-component glass matrix by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The glass composite has great chemical and photochemical stability. Besides, a non-radiative energy transfer process between rare earth ions and organic chromophores was observed in the glass composites. These results indicate that the glass composite has great potential for optical application, and SPS can be a novel technique for encapsulating organic chromophores.