1. Comprehensive studies of the Ag+ effect on borosilicate glass ceramics containing Ag nanoparticles and Er-doped hexagonal NaYF4 nanocrystals: morphology, structure, and 2.7 μm emission
- Author
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Xufeng Jing, Shiqing Xu, Wenhua Tang, Ying Tian, Junjie Zhang, and Qunhuo Liu
- Subjects
Glass structure ,Morphology (linguistics) ,Materials science ,QC1-999 ,Ag nanoparticles ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,ag nanoparticles ,Ceramic ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,Hexagonal crystal system ,Borosilicate glass ,glass structure ,Physics ,Doping ,glass and glass ceramic ,mid-infrared emission ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics ,0104 chemical sciences ,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials ,Nanocrystal ,Chemical engineering ,visual_art ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,0210 nano-technology ,Biotechnology - Abstract
In this work, we have performed a comprehensive investigation of the Ag+ concentration effect on the morphological, thermal, structural, and mid-infrared emission properties of novel oxyfluoride borosilicate glasses and glass ceramics containing both Ag nanoparticles and erbium-doped hexagonal NaYF4 nanocrystals. The effect of Ag+ ions on the glass forming and crystallization processes was discussed in detail by glass structural analysis. It was found that the Ag+ concentration can affect the distribution of Na+ ion and bridge oxygen in boron-rich and silicon-rich phases, which induced the transformation between BO3 triangles and BO4 tetrahedra during crystallization process. In addition, there was a turning point when the doped Ag+ ion concentration reached its solubility in the borosilicate glass. Furthermore, the enhancement of the 2.7 μm emission and the reduction of the lifetime of the 4I13/2 level were observed both in glasses and in glass ceramics, and its origin was revealed by qualitative and quantitative analyses of the Er3+-Ag nanoparticles (localized electric field enhancement) and Er3+-Er3+ (nonradiative resonance energy transfer) interactions within glasses and glass ceramics. Moreover, the high lifetime of the 4I11/2 level (2.12 ms) and the peak emission cross section in 2.7 μm (6.8×10−21 cm2) suggested that the prepared glass ceramics have promising mid-infrared laser applications.
- Published
- 2018