A New Ultrafine Luminescent La2O3:Eu3+ Aerogel

This paper reports on the synthesis and characterization of La2O3:Eu3+ luminescent aerogels fabricated by the sol-gel method and the supercritical drying technique. The % mol concentration of the Eu3+ ion was varied to study the effects on the luminescent properties of the aerogels. XRD and TEM analysis showed that the La2O3:Eu3+ aerogels exhibited a semi-crystalline behavior regardless of whether the concentration of europium was increased. SEM micrographs revealed a porous structure in the aerogels, which were composed of quasi-spherical nanoparticles that were interconnected and formed coral-shaped agglomerates. Photoluminescence spectroscopy characterization showed that the aerogels had an infrared emission located at ? = 793 nm, and the maximum photoluminescence emission intensity was observed for the aerogel with 50% Eu3+. The results demonstrate that, without heat treatment, it is possible to manufacture luminescent aerogels of rare-earth oxides that can be used in opto-electronic devices.

Automated summary

This study reports on the synthesis and characterization of La2O3:Eu3+ luminescent aerogels using the sol-gel method and supercritical drying technique. The concentration of Eu3+ ion was varied to investigate its impact on the luminescent properties of the aerogels. XRD and TEM analysis revealed that the La2O3:Eu3+ aerogels exhibited semi-crystalline behavior regardless of the concentration of europium. SEM images showed a porous structure composed of interconnected quasi-spherical nanoparticles forming coral-shaped agglomerates. Photoluminescence spectroscopy demonstrated an infrared emission at ? = 793 nm, with the highest emission intensity observed for the aerogel with 50% Eu3+. These results highlight the potential of manufacturing rare-earth oxide luminescent aerogels without heat treatment for opto-electronic devices.