γ-radiation, chemical synthesis of Ce3+ : Gd2Si2O7/SiO2 nanocomposite

Abstract

In this work, Ce3+:Gd2Si2O7/SiO2(0.1 mol% Ce3+) nanocomposite powders were successfully synthesized via γ-irradiation, followed by thermal treatment at 900 °C for 2h.The radiations were carried out in a 60Co γ-source chamber at a dose up to 50 kGy. The structural, morphological and optical properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. XRD analysis reveals the formation of pure orthorhombic δ-Gd2Si2O7 Gadolinium pyrosilicate (δ-GPS)crystalline phase. The average particles size ranges from 30 to 50 nm when the γ-doses increase up to 50 kGy. Raman scattering shows that the intensity of Raman bands significantly increases with increasing of γ-doses. TEM observations show well dispersed spherical GPS nanoparticles within the silica glass host and confirmed the particles size and size distribution dependence on the γ-irradiation dose. Finally, photoluminescence measurements show that the emission intensity corresponding to 5d-4f transition of Ce3+increases with increasing of γ-irradiation dose due to high purity, better crystallinity and uniform distribution of Ce3+ions into GPS nanostructures