Indium oxide and europium/dysprosium doped indium oxide nanoparticles: Sonochemical synthesis, characterization, and photoluminescence studies

Indium oxide and europium/dysprosium doped indium oxide nanoparticles were prepared using a sonochemical technique where indium ethoxide was used as a precursor. The obtained indium oxide nanoparticles were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) techniques. The band gaps of the particles were estimated using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. With change in size of particles from 8 to 14 nm, the band gap varied between 4.11 and 3.79 eV. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of In2O3 nanoparticles showed peaks in visible region characteristic of shallow traps present within the nanoparticles. Weak luminescence was observed in europium-doped indium oxide nanoparticles,.