Reddish orange phosphorescence of some types of zinc borosilicate glasses activated with Mn2+ and/or Sm3+

Abstract

The current research focuses on studying the photoluminescence and phosphorescence performance of some types of undoped zinc borosilicate glasses together with BaO or Bi2O3. The effects of addition transition metal oxide (MnO2) and/or rare—earth oxide (Sm2O3) on the behavior of mentioned characteristics were also studied. The glasses were prepared through the usual method of melt and annealing technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis proved the amorphous nature of the prepared glasses. The optical properties including the absorption in the UV–Visible NIR region and estimation of the optical band gap, Urbach energy, and refractive index have been studied. Both undoped zinc borosilicate and BaO glasses exhibit UV absorption and Bi2O3 doped glass exhibit an extended near—visible absorption. The characteristic absorption bands of MnO2—doped glasses in the visible region beside UV absorption were identified while the extended absorptions in the NIR region appeared for glasses containing Sm2O3. According to the progressive changes in the optical absorptions, variations in the optical parameters (Eopt, ∆E, n) were identified depending on the composition. The photoluminescence measurements revealed characteristic emissions of MnO2 and/or Sm2O3. The prepared glasses show good photoluminescence responses that gave the chance to estimated the phosphorescence performance of the prepared glasses. The phosphorescence measurements show different emissions related to reddish orange emission. The CIE chromaticity coordinates also indicated the appearance of a clear observable reddish orange color produced as a result of phosphorescence in the presence of MnO2 and/or Sm2O3 as a dopant in the glass matrix. The FTIR measurements represent the building structure of the studied glass network. Both tetrahedral BO4 and triangle BO3 beside SiO4 groups were shared as the basic building blocks of the glasses. Heavy metal ions Ba2+ and Bi3+ show characteristic changes in the FTIR absorption which reflect their effect on the building structure. The thermal properties of the prepared glasses have been identified by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermal expansion measurements. The thermal analysis was correlated to the change of heavy metal ion Ba2+ or Bi3+ in the glass network and indicating the crystallization conductance of the prepared glasses.