The impact of heat treatment on the luminescence properties of Dy/Ag co-doped sodium alumina borate glasses

Abstract

The sodium alumina borate glasses were synthesized by conventional melt-quenching method and heat treated with different durations to ensure the formation and growth of Ag nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscope measurements revealed that the average nanoparticle size increases with the heat treatment duration. The bonding nature between Dy3+ ions and surrounding ligands was getting more covalent with HT. Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters proved the asymmetric nature around Dy3+. The most intense emission and excitation bands of Dy3+ ions were observed for 6 h heat-treated glass (HT-6h). Intense blue (483 nm) and yellow (572 nm) emissions were obtained in which the yellow one has the highest radiative parameters approving the suitability of glasses for yellow laser applications. Based on colorimetric results emission closest to white light can be generated by HT-6h under 426 nm excitation. The decay time of 4F9/2 → 6H13/2 transition increases with heat treatment attributed to the combined effect of the enhanced local electric field induced by the Ag nanoparticles and energy transfer from Ag species to Dy3+ ions. The findings show that Dy3+/Ag+ co-doped sodium alumina borate glasses are potential materials for photonic applications. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.