Luminescence properties of nanocrystalline Y2O3:Eu3+ in different host materials

In this study, the optical properties of nanocrystalline europium doped yttria, Y2O3:Eu3+ were investigated in dependence on different caging hosts such as porous MCM-41, porous silica, and porous alumina with pore sizes ranging between 2.7 to 80 nm. These results were compared to nanopowders measured in air and aqueous solution whose particle sizes were 5 nm and 8 nm, respectively. All these results were compared to a commercial lamp phosphor powder with a grain size of about 5 mum. The structural properties of the samples were determined by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Investigated optical properties are the photoluminescence emission spectra, the excitation spectra, the lifetimes, and the quantum efficiencies. A heavy dependence of the charge transfer process on the surrounding will be reported and discussed. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.