Wet Chemical Preparation of Nanoparticles ZnO:Eu 3+ and ZnO:Tb 3+ with Enhanced Photoluminescence

Abstract

ZnO doped with Eu 3+ and Tb 3+ had been successfully prepared by wet chemical method with the assistance of microwave. The influence of reaction conditions such as temperature, time, content of Eu 3+ , Tb 3+ ion, and annealing treatment on the structure and luminescent characteristics was studied. The analysis of energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and photoluminescence spectra measurements indicated that Eu 3+ and Tb 3+ exist in host lattice and create the new emission region compared to ZnO crystalline host lattice. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) studies show the Eu 3+ , Tb 3+ doped ZnO nanoparticles have a pseudohexagonal shape. The particle size was 30–50 nm for ZnO:Eu 3+ and 40–60 nm for ZnO:Tb 3+ . Photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra at room temperature have been studied to recognize active centers for characteristic luminescence of ZnO:Eu 3+ and ZnO:Tb 3+ . The characteristic luminescent lines of Eu 3+ ( 5 D 0 - 7 F j ) and Tb 3+ ( 5 D 4 - 7 F j ) were determined. It has been demonstrated that the wet chemical synthesis method with microwave assistance can strongly enhance the luminescent intensity of nanoparticles ZnO:Eu 3+ in red and ZnO:Tb 3+ in green.