Perceiving impressive optical properties of ternary SiO2-TiO2-ZrO2:Eu3+ sol-gel glasses with high reluctance for concentration quenching: An experimental approach

Abstract

Eu3+-doped ternary SiO2-TiO2-ZrO2 glasses were prepared through a non-hydrolytic sol-gel process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was employed to identify the vibrational modes present in the ternary glass. The phonon energies were calculated using excitation spectrum and complemented well with the vibrational modes in the Raman spectrum. Photoluminescence spectrum was used to assess the luminescent augmentation. The uniform distribution of dopant ions in the as prepared ternary glass aided in achieving a comparatively unmatched doping concentration of Eu3+ion (17.5wt%) without luminescence quenching and it can be attributed to reduced cluster formation. High concentration of rare earth ion incorporation leads to intense and tunable emission with higher brightness. Excellent color purity of the emission by means of CIE color gamut for the red color was observed, which is close to the National Television Standard Committee (NTSC) value. Theoretical investigations of the photophysical parameters and radiative decay time were carried out with Judd-Ofelt analysis. The double exponentially fitted decay curve gave a satisfactory experimental lifetime. These results indicate that tailor made europium doped ternary SiO2-TiO2-ZrO2 glasses have potential applications in the areas of photonic devices as well as biological sensors because of its intense tunable and efficient emission, high purity, and low toxicity.