Humidity sensing properties of La^3＋ and K^＋ co-doped Ti0.9Sn0.1O2 thin films

The humidity sensing properties of La3+ and K+ co-doped Ti0.9Sn0.1O2 thin films were investigated. The humidity sensitive thin films were prepared by sol-gel method on alumina substrates. The sensing behaviors of thin films were inspected at different sintering temperatures by constructing a humidity-impedance measuring system. It was found that the addition of rare earth ion La3+ and alkali ion K+ was beneficial for improving the humidity sensitive properties of the samples and La0.003K0.5Ti0.9Sn0.1O2 sintered at 500 ℃ for 4 h showed the best humidity sensing properties. The impedance of this thin film decreased from 109 to 104 Ω with excellent linearity in the humidity range of 11%-95%. Narrow hysteresis loop, prominent stability and high sensitivity were obtained. The effects of dopant con-tent and doping mechanism on humidity sensitivity were also discussed in terms of segregation of rare earth ions at grain boundaries and granularity of crystalline and influence of K+ on the decrease in the intrinsic resistance of the materials, and increase in the number of wa-ter adsorption sites.     

La~(3+) -doped SrBi_2Ta_2O_9 thin films for FRAM synthesized by sol-gel method

This paper discusses the possibility of synthesis of SBTL sol-gel films for use as active layers for non-volatile memory(FRAM). La-doped SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films were synthesized by sol-gel method on Pt/TiO2/BPSG/SiO2/Si substrates. The structural features of the surface(AFM), crystallization behavior(XRD) during the heating and ferroelectric properties of synthesized films were discussed. It was shown that an optimum surface structure and a high share of perovskite phase of SBTL-films were compared to SBT-films(Theating=800 oC). Achieved ferroelectric parameters suggested the possibility of using synthesized SBTL sol-gel films in non-volatile memory devices.     

Humidity sensing properties of Ce-doped nanoporous ZnO thin film prepared by sol-gel method

The humidity sensitive characteristics of the sensor fabricated from Ce-doped nanoporous ZnO by screen-printing on the alumina substrate with Ag-Pd interdigital electrodes were investigated at different sintering temperatures.The nanoporous thin films were prepared by sol-gel technique.It was found that the impedance of the sensor sintered at 600 oC changed more than four order of magnitude in the relative humidity(RH) range of 11%-95% at 25 oC.The response and recovery time of the sensor were about 13 and 17 s,respectively.The sensor showed high humidity sensitivity,rapid response and recovery,prominent stability,good repeatability and narrow hysteresis loop.These re-sults indicated that Ce-doped nanoporous ZnO thin films can be used in fabricating high-performance humidity sensors.     

Preparation and photocatalytic activity of La~(3+) and Eu~(3+) co-doped TiO_2 nanoparticles: photo-assisted degradation of methylene blue

Rare earth ions La3+ and Eu3+ co-doped TiO2 photocatalyst (La-Eu/TiO2) was prepared by sol-gel method, and characterized by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), specific surface area and porosity (BET and BJH), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocatalytic activity of the La-Eu/TiO2 was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) ...     

Effects of La^3＋ Non-Uniformly Doping in TiO2 Films on Photocatalytic Activities

TiO2 thin films non-uniformly doped by La^3＋ were prepared by sol-gel method. The comparison of thin film activities, which was characterized by photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange, shows that doping modes have great activities. The non-uniformly effects on photocatalytic doped TiO2 films resuh in good photocatalytic activities with an optimal concentration; about 0. 5% （ atom fraction ）. UV-Vis transmittance spectra indicate that the absorption edges of these TiO2 thin films shift to ward longer wave- lengths remarkably, and electrochemical behavior also reveales that e^- -h^＋ pairs are prone to formation and separation under UV irradiation. The mechanism of photocatalytic activities are enhanced by La^3＋ non-uniformly doping was discussed on the analogy of the theory of “window effect” of solar cell heterojunction.     

Ferroelectric properties of sol-gel derived Nd-doped SrBi4Ti4O15 thin films

Neodymium-doped strontium bismuth titanate （SrBi4-xNdxTi4O15） ferroelectric thin films were fabricated using the sol-gel method on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates. The influence of Nd content on the microstructure and ferroelectric properties of SrBi4-xNdxTi4O15 thin films were systematically studied. The results indicated that the SrBi3.88Nd0.12Ti4O15 （SBNT0.12） thin films had better ferroelectric properties, with a remanent polarization of （2Pr） of 34.3 μC/cm^2 and a coercive field （2Ec） of 220 kV/cm. This could be attributed to the fact that SBNT0.12 ferroelectric thin films consisted of more and larger ball-like grains, approximately 150-200 nm, with structure distortion, which greatly contributed to the improvement of the ferroelectric properties of the films. Furthermore, the film exhibited a good fatigue resistant property. The value of 2Pr after 10^10 switching cycles did not change significantly. The SrBi3.88Nd0.12Ti4O15 films were promising candidates for the application of FeRAMs.     

Upconversion properties of Y2O3：Er films prepared by sol-gel method

Y2O3:Er3+ films were prepared by a simple sol-gel process. The structural properties of Y2O3:Er3+ flints were characterized with X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the Y2O3:Er3+ f'rims might have high upconversion efficiency because of their low vibrational energy. Under 785 and 980 nm laser excitation, the samples showed green (2H11/2→4I15/2, 4S3/2→4I15/2) and red (4F9/2→4I15/2) upconversion emissions. The upconversion mechanisms were stud-led in detail through laser power dependence. Excited state absorption and energy transfer process were discussed as possible upconversion mechanisms. The cross relaxation process in Er3+ was also investigated.     

Biosorption of La^3＋ and Ce^3＋ by Agrobacterium sp.HN1

The Agrobacterium sp.HN1 was isolated from the soil and used to adsorb rare earth ions La3+ and Ce3+.The results showed that the pretreatments of Agrobacterium sp.HN1 did not enhance the adsorption of La3+ and Ce3+.The pH,temperature,time and bacterial age affected the dynamics of adsorption of La3+ and Ce3+.The optimum adsorption conditions for Agrobacterium sp.HN1 were as follows:15 mg/L La3+ of initial concentration,10 mg/L Ce3+,300 mg/L(dry wt.cell) biomass for sorption,6.8 pH,30 oC temperature,150 r/min rotational speed,2 h adsorption time and 28 h bacterial age.The adsorption kinetics of La3+ and Ce3+ for Agrobacterium sp.HN1 followed the pseudo-second order equation.     

Luminescent properties and energy transfer of color-tunable Sr3Y2（SiO3）6：Ce3＋,Tb3＋ phosphors

Phosphors with controlled emission spectra are of great interest due to their application for white light emitting diodes.Herein, a new class of Sr3Y2（SiO3）6：Ce3＋,Tb3＋ phosphors were synthesized by a facile sol-gel combustion method. The phase structure,morphology, and luminescence properties of the phosphors were characterized by using powder X-ray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, transmission electron microscopy（TEM）, and photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra,respectively. The results on luminescence properties indicated that co-doped Ce3＋ ions served as UV-light sensitizers with excitation energy partially transferred to Tb3＋ ions, leading to green emission from Tb3＋. Particularly, the corresponding emitting colors of the phosphors could be well-tuned from deep blue（0.16, 0.05） to green region（0.25, 0.45） by adjusting the molar ratio of Ce3＋/Tb3＋.     

Synthesis and luminescent properties of Ce~(3+) doped LuAG nano-sized powders by mixed solvo-thermal method

Polycrystalline LuAG:Ce3+(cerium3+-doped lutetium aluminum garnet) powders were prepared by mixed solvo-thermal method.Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy(FTIR) and X-ray diffraction(XRD) measurements showed that the precursors were ethanol derivatives AlO(OH) crystal with hydroxyl and carbonate group.XRD results showed that phase of Lu2O3 disappeared with the precursors were annealed at 400 °C,cubic phase LuAG:Ce3+ appeared but only one diffraction peaks of LuAP(LuAlO3) at calcination temperature to 700 °C,and the purified crystalline phase of LuAG:Ce3+ was obtained at 1000 °C.The scanning electron microscopy(SEM) analysis revealed that the synthesized LuAG:Ce3+ powders were uniform and had good dispersivity with an average particle size about 100 nm.Excitation and emission spectra of Ce3+ doped LuAG phosphors were measured.Many factors of affecting the intensity of emission spectra were discussed.     

Quenching mechanism of Er~(3+) emissions in Er~(3+)-and Er~(3+)/Yb~(3+)-doped SrAl_(12)O_(19) nanophosphors

Nanoscaled SrAl12O19:Er3+ and SrAl12O19:Yb3+,Er3+ phosphors were synthesized by a combustion method.The emission intensities of every sample were compared by a new method with the emission of codoped Gd3+ ions as a reference.Compared with their bulk material prepared by the solid-state reaction method,a higher Er3+ quenching concentration,as high as 20%,was observed in the nanoscaled phosphors for both visible(VIS) and near infrared(NIR) emissions.The higher quenching concentration in both VIS and NIR regio...     

Spectroscopic and fluorescence properties of Sm~(3+)-doped zincfluorophosphate glasses

Optical absorption and fluorescence spectra of Sm3＋-doped zincfluorophosphate glasses with molar composition of 44P2O5＋17K20＋9Al2O3＋（30-χ）ZnF2＋χSm2O3 （χ=0.01 mol.%, 0.05 mol.%, 0.1 mol.%, 0.5 mol.%, 1.0 mol.%, 2.0 and 3.0 mol.%） referred as PKAZFSm were prepared by melt quenching technique and were characterized through Raman, absorption, emission and decay curve analysis. From the absorption spectra, Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters were determined and were used to predict radiative properties such as transition probabilities （AR, radiative lifetimes （τR）, branching ratios （βR）, effective bandwidths （△λeff） and stimulated emission cross-section （σ（λp）） for the excited 4G5/2 luminescent level. The decay curve for the 4G5/2 level was single exponential for lower concentration and became non-exponential for higher concentrations. The non-exponential nature of the decay curves of the 4G5/2 level increased with increase in Sm3＋ ions concentration accompanied by decrease in lifetime due to energy transfer processes among the Sm3＋ ions. The non-exponential decay curves was well fitted to the generalized Inokuti-Hirayama model for S=6, indicating that the energy transfer among optically active ions was of dipole-dipole interaction. The cross-relaxation mechanism responsible for the quenching of lifetimes and the effect of variation of concentration on the spectroscopic properties were also discussed.     

Preparation,characterization of Y~(3+)-doped TiO_2 nanoparticles and their photocatalytic activities for methyl orange degradation

A series of pure and Y3+-doped TiO2 nanoparticles with high photocatalytic activities were prepared by a sol-gel method using tetra-n-butyl titanate as precursor.The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy(DRS).The results indicated that yttrium doping could effectively reduce the crystalline size,inhibit the anatase-to-rutile phase transformation and surppress the recombination of the photogenerated electron-h...     

Photoluminescence properties of nanosized strontium-yttrium borate phosphor Sr3Y2（BO3）4：Eu^3＋ obtained by the sol-gel Pechini method

Mixed strontium-yttrium borate phosphor Sr3Y2(BO3) 4 doped with Eu3+ ions was obtained by the sol-gel Pechini method.Crystal structure of the synthesized compound was analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction.Optimal conditions for the synthesis were found.Photo-physical properties of the phosphor samples were investigated by collecting excitation and luminescence spectra as well as measuring lumi-nescence lifetime.Judd-Ofelt analysis showed that Eu3+ ions occupied Y3+ sites in the crystalline network.The studied compound showed a red emission with the quantum yield of 54%-55% and can be potentially used as phosphor for plasma display panels and luminescent tubes.     

Role of monovalent co-dopants on the PL emission properties of YAl_3(BO_3)_4:Ce~(3+) phosphor

The cerium(Ce3+) doped yttrium aluminium borate(YAB) phosphor was synthesized by modified solid state reaction. The phosphor's phase purity and its emission properties were studied using powder X-ray diffraction pattern and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The synthesized YAB had rhomobohedral crystal structure. The phosphor had two different excitation and emission spectra.By 325 nm excitation, the phosphor had emission at 373 nm and with 363 nm excitation; the phosphor gave violet-blue emission at 418 nm.The UV emission of the phosphor originated due to Ce3+ ions at the yttrium site and violet-blue emission owing to Ce3+ ions at non-regular sites viz., Al3+ and interstitial sites. The emission intensity of the phosphor was enhanced when monovalent ions(K+, Na+, and F–) were added as co-dopants. The crucial role of ionic radii of monovalent co-dopants on the emission enhancement of the YAB:Ce3+ phosphor was reported. Thermogravimetric study showed that the YAB possessed high thermal stability at up to 900 ℃.     

Photoluminescent properties of Ca2Gd8(SiO4)6O2: Dy3+ phosphor films prepared by sol-gel process

There are growing interests on phosphor thin films owing to their potential application in high-resolution devices such as cathode ray tubes and flat panel display devices. The solution-based sol-gel method is one of the most important techniques for the synthesis of vari-ous functional coating films. Compounds with the apatite structure are very suitable host lattices for various luminescent ions. Ca2RE8(SiO4)6O2 ( RE=Y, Gd, La ) is a kind of ternary rare-earth-metal silicate with oxyapatite structure, which has been used as host mate-rial for the luminescence of various rare earth and mercury-like ions. In this article, Ca2Gd8(SiO4)6O2:Dy3 phosphor films were dip-coated on quartz glass substrates through the sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL) spectra, as well as lifetimes were used to characterize the resulting films. AFM study revealed that the phosphor films consisted of homoge-neous particles. The Dy3 showed its characteristic emission in crystalline phosphor films, i.e., 4F9/2–6H15/2 and 4F9/2–6H13/2.     

Luminescence properties of a new red emitting Eu~(3+)-doped alkaline-earth fluoborate phosphor: BaCa_(1-2x)BO_3F:xEu~(3+), xM~+ (M=Li, Na, K)

A series of new red-emitting BaCa1-2xBO3F:xEu3+, xM+ (M=Li, Na, K) phosphors were synthesized by the solid-reaction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflection (UV-vis) and photoluminescence spectra were utilized to characterize the crystallization process, structure and luminescence properties of the as-synthesized phosphors. The XRD results indicated that the sample began to crystallize at 800 oC, and single-phase BaCaBO3F was fully obtained after annealing at 1000 oC. The charge compensated behav...     

Influence of annealing temperature on luminescent properties of Eu~(3+)/V~(5+) co-doped nanocrystalline Gd_2Ti_2O_7 powders

Nanosized Gd2(1-x)Eu2xTi2O7:yV5+ phosphors were prepared via sol-gel method and characterized with X-ray diffraction,Raman spectroscopy,diffuse reflectance spectra and photoluminescence spectra.Their PL properties were investigated as functions of the Eu3+ doping concentration and annealing temperature.The results indicated that the as-prepared samples showed a strong emission of Eu3+ under the irradiation of 303 nm.For Eu3+-doped Gd2Ti2O7,the orange emission at 586 nm was the strongest,which was correspond...     

Luminescent properties of Eu~(3+) doped Gd_2WO_6 and Gd_2(WO_4)_3 nanophosphors prepared via co-precipitation method

Eu3+ doped Gd2WO6 and Gd2(WO4)3 nanophosphors with different concentrations were prepared via a co-precipitation method. The structure and morphology of the nanocrystal samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), respectively. The emission spectra and excitation spectra of samples were measured. J-O parameters and quantum efficiencies of Eu3+ 5D0 energy level were calculated, and the concentration quenching of Eu3+ luminescence in dif...     

Spectroscopic properties of Eu~(3+) doped YBO_3 nanophosphors synthesized by modified co-precipitation method

Y1-xEuxBO3 nanophosphors were synthesized by a modified co-precipitation method.The structure of the obtained nanocrystals was determined by X-ray diffraction(XRD) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) .The average crystallite size was calculated from the full-width at half-maximum(FWHM) of the diffraction peaks by the Scherrer equation.The average particles size was 25±10 nm.The spectroscopic properties of the Y1-xEuxBO3 nanoborates were characterized by excitation and emission spectra under UV and VUV...