Comparison study of two aldehyde group finishing agents in surface modification of up-conversion luminescence materials

Surface modification of up-conversion luminescence materials （Na[Y0.57Yb0.39Er0.04]F4 modified by amino groups） by grafting and modifying with aldehyde groups was studied by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, thermogravimetric analysis （TGA）, and emission spectrum （EM）. The surface modification effect was compared using two different finishhag agents, p-phthalaldehyde and glutaraldehyde. It was found that the surface of up-conversion luminescence materials could be modified by aldehyde groups of the two finishing agents, the systematic dispersibility and the thermostability of the up-conversion luminescence material modified by p-phthalaldehyde were better than those of the material modified by glutaraldehyde, and the luminous intensity of the material modified by p-phthalaldehyde was increased. The AI （the ratio of the suspended segmental quality in the specimen to the total mass of the specimen） of the material modified by p-phthalaldehyde was higher than that of the material modified by glutaraldehyde. It is obviously seen that the embellishment effect of p-phthalaldehyde as a finishing agent was better than that of glutaraldehyde. In addition, the reasons why p-phthalaldehyde is a good finishing agent are also explained.

Up-conversion luminescence from Nd^(3+) ions doped in NaBi(WO_4)_2 single crystal

The luminescence of Nd3+-doped in NaBi(WO4)2 single crystal was investigated from 10 K to room temperature.The excitation source was a pulsed dye laser in resonance into the(4G5/2+2G(1)7/2) levels of Nd3+ ions.Several blue emission bands in the up-conversion luminescence spectra corresponded to transitions from 2P1/2 to 4I9/2.Some violet bands corresponding to transitions of 4D3/2→(4I9/2,4I11/2,4I13/2) were also observed.For comparison,the luminescence spectra and decay curves excited by the pulsed 355 nm l...

Up-conversion luminescence tuning in Er^3+ -doped ceramic glass by femtosecond laser pulse at different laser powers

The up-conversion luminescence tuning of rare-earth ions is an important research topic for understanding luminescence mechanisms and promoting related applications. In this paper, we experimentally study the up-conversion luminescence tuning of Er3+-doped ceramic glass excited by the unshaped, V-shaped and cosine-shaped femtosecond laser field with different laser powers. The results show that green and red up-conversion luminescence can be effectively tuned by varying the power or spectral phase of the femtosecond laser field. We further analyze the up-conversion luminescence tuning mechanism by considering different excitation processes, including single-photon absorption(SPA), two-photon absorption(TPA), excited state absorption(ESA), and energy transfer up-conversion(ETU). The relative weight of TPA in the whole excitation process can increase with the increase of the laser power, thereby enhancing the intensity ratio between green and red luminescence(I547/I656). However, the second ETU(ETU2) process can generate red luminescence and reduce the green and red luminescence intensity ratio I547/I656, while the third ESA(ESA3) process can produce green luminescence and enhance its control efficiency. Moreover, the up-conversion luminescence tuning mechanism is further validated by observing the up-conversion luminescence intensity, depending on the laser power and the down-conversion luminescence spectrum under the excitation of 400-nm femtosecond laser pulse. These studies can present a clear physical picture that enables us to understand the up-conversion luminescence tuning mechanism in rare-earth ions, and can also provide an opportunity to tune up-conversion luminescence to promote its related applications.

The luminescence enhancement of Eu^(3+) ion and SnO_2 nanocrystal co-doped sol gel SiO_2 films

SnO2 nanocrystal and rare-earth Eu^3＋ ion co-doped SiO2 thin films are prepared by sol-gel and spin coating methods. The formation of tetragonal rutile structure SnO2 nanocrystals with a uniform distribution is confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is used to investigate the densities of the hydroxyl groups, and it is found that the emission intensity from the 5Do-TF2 transitions of the Eu^3＋ ions is enhanced by two orders of magnitude due to energy transfer from the oxygen-vacancy-related defects of the SnO2 nanocrystals to nearby Eu^3＋ ions. The influences of the amounts of Sn and the post-annealing temperatures are systematically evaluated to further understand the mechanism of energy transfer. The luminescence intensity ratio of Eu^3＋ ions from electric dipole transition and magnetic dipole transition indicate the different probable locations of Eu^3＋ ions in the sol-gel thin film, which are further discussed based on temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements.

Structure and luminescent properties of luminous polypropylene fiber based on Sr_2MgSi_2O_7:Eu^(2+),Dy^(3+)

The luminous polypropylene fiber based on long afterglow luminescent material Sr2MgSi2O7：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋was prepared by melt-spinning process. Micro-morphology, phase composition, crystal structure, spectral features and afterglow properties of the lu-minescent fiber were tested and analyzed. The results indicated that the fiber had independent superposition phase features of both Sr2MgSi2O7：Eu2＋,Dy3＋and polypropylene. The range of its excitation wavelength was located between 250-450 nm;therefore, the luminescent fiber could be excited by ultraviolet or visible light. It could emit blue light of 460 nm wavelength after excitation, which was caused by the 5d-4f transition of Eu^2＋ions within the host lattice. The initial luminescent intensity was more than 0.8 cd/m^2, and afterglow life lasted 7 h. The afterglow decay was composed of rapid-decaying and slow-decaying processes, and the decay charac-teristics depended on the depth and concentration of trap level in the Sr2MgSi2O7：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋.

Effects of europium concentration on luminescent and scintillation performance of Cs_(0.2)Rb_(0.8)Ca_(1-x)Eu_(x)Br_(3)(0≤x≤0.08)crystals

A series of Cs_(0.2)Rb_(0.8)Ca_(1-x)Eu_(x)Br_(3)(0≤x≤0.08)crystals doped with different concentrations of Eu^(2+)were grown using the Bridgman-Stockbarger method.The work describes the influence of Eu^(2+)concentration on the luminescent and kinetic properties of Cs_(0.2)Rb_(0.8)Ca_(1-x)Eu_(x)Br_(3) crystals,as well as on their scintillation performance.The maximum in the radioluminescence spectra of these crystals shifts from 439 to446 nm with increasing europium concentration.The scintillation decay times of Cs_(0.2)Rb_(0.8)Ca_(1-x)Eu_(x)Br_(3) lengthen with the Eu^(2+)content.The best light output of 33600photons/MeV is obtained for Cs_(0.2)Rb_(0.8)Ca_(0.93)Eu_(0.07)Br_(3),and the best energy resolution of 6.9%is found for Cs_(0.2)Rb_(0.8)Ca_(0.94)Eu_(0.06)Br_(3).

10BaF_2:NaF,Na_3AlF_6/TiO_2 composite as a novel visible-light-driven photocatalyst based on upconversion emission

A rare-earth free upconversion luminescent material, 10BaF2：NaF, Na3AIF6, is synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The study of fluorescent spectrum indicates that it can convert visible light （550 nm-610 nm） into ultraviolet light （290 nm 350 nm）, and two emission peaks at 304 nm and 324 nm are observed under the excitation of 583 nm at room temperature. Subsequently, 10BaF2：NaF, Na3AIF6/TiO2 composite photocatalyst is prepared and its catalytic activity is evaluated by the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 under visible light irradiation （λ〉 515 nm）. The results show that 10BaF2：NaF, Na3AIF6/TiO2 is a more effective photocatalyst for CO2 reduction than pure TiO2, their corresponding methanol yields are 179 and 0 μmol/g-cat under the same conditions. Additionally, the mechanism of photocatalytic reduction of CO2 on 10BaF2：NaF, Na3AIF6/TiO2 is proposed.

VUV spectroscopic properties of rare-earth(RE=Eu,Tb and Dy)-doped A_2Zr(PO_4)_2(A=Li,Na and K) phosphates

This study fully investigated the vacuum ultraviolet excitation spectra of pure and rare-earth（RE=Eu, Tb and Dy）-doped A2Zr（PO4）2（A=Li, Na and K） phosphors. The synthesized Na and Li compounds were characterized by XRD showing two new types of phases after indexation. Although these three pure compounds had different crystal structures, they exhibited similar luminescence properties. For Eu3＋-activated samples, the broad excitation band centered at 217 nm could be attributed to the CT transition between O2–（2p6） and Eu3＋ ions. For Tb3＋-doped samples, two groups of f-d transitions were observed, where a strong broad band at 221 nm was due to the spin-allowed f-d transition. Energy transfer from O2– to Dy3＋was not observed in Dy3＋-doped phosphors, probably because it overlapped considerably with the CT transition from O2– to Zr4＋ at 187 nm.

Luminescence properties of Y2WO6：Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ with enhanced redemission via upconversion

The Er/Ybco-doped Y2 WO6 phosphors were prepared via high temperature solid method for the first time. The structure was investigated with X-ray diffraction(XRD). The crystal morphology was observed through scanning electron microscopy(SEM). Under the excitation of 980 nm diode laser,visible up-conversion(UC) emissions were observed in green and red regions. The luminescence study reveals strong ~4 Sto ~4 Itransition at 545 nm and strong ~4 Fto ~4 Itransition at 657 nm. The relative intensities ratios of red(510-580 nm) to green(640-690 nm) emissions(R) reduce when the samples co-doped with Ybions. The dependence of emission intensity on the pump power indicate that visible UC emissions are governed by two photons, meanwhile three photons process is also involved. For more details, the discussion is made in the energy level diagrams.