Role of Al³⁺ on tuning optical properties of Ce³⁺‐activated borosilicate scintillating glasses prepared in air

Abstract

A colorless Ce3+‐activated borosilicate scintillating glass enriched with Gd2O3 is successfully synthesized in air atmosphere for the first time. The full replacement of 10 mol% BaO by Al2O3, and the partial substitution of 3 mol% SiO2 by Si3N4 in the designed glass composition are crucial for this success. The role of Al3+ on tuning the optical properties of Ce3+‐activated borosilicate scintillating glass synthesized in air are analyzed by optical transmittance, X‐ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) spectra, photoluminescence (PL) and radioluminescence (RL) spectra. The results suggest that the stable Ce4+ ions can be effectively reduced to stable Ce3+ ions by the full replacement of BaO by Al2O3, and both the PL andRL intensity of the designed borosilicate scintillating glass are enhanced by a factor of 6.7 and 5.2, respectively. The integral RL intensity of the synthesized Ce3+‐activated borosilicate scintillating glass is ~17.2%BGO, with a light output of about 1180 ph/MeV. The strategy of substituting BaO by Al2O3 will trigger more scientific and technological considerations in designing novel fast scintillating glasses.

Enhancement of emission intensity in Ce3+‐activated aluminoborosilicate scintillating glass synthesized in air

“…This strategy seems to be more effective in borosilicate, borogermanate, and borate glass systems as reported in our previous work. It is experimentally confirmed that Ce 4+ is easier to be reduced in borosilicate glass containing Al 2 O 3 component by introducing nitrides such as Si 3 N 4 in previous work . However, if there is nonexistence of Al 2 O 3 component in borosilicate glass, it is very difficult to convert Ce 4+ to Ce 3+ ions, which results in the orange body color of the as‐synthesized borosilicate glass .…”

“…It is experimentally confirmed that Ce 4+ is easier to be reduced in borosilicate glass containing Al 2 O 3 component by introducing nitrides such as Si 3 N 4 in previous work . However, if there is nonexistence of Al 2 O 3 component in borosilicate glass, it is very difficult to convert Ce 4+ to Ce 3+ ions, which results in the orange body color of the as‐synthesized borosilicate glass . Aluminum oxide, as one of the glass components, has also been reported to play a critical role in manipulating the valence state of europium ions in porous silica, aluminoborate, and aluminoborosilicate glasses It is confirmed that Al 2 O 3 ‐modified glasses with both lower optical basicity and more rigid network seem to in favor of the lower valence state of europium ions.…”

“…The above‐mentioned reduction conditions not only complicate the synthesis process of glass material, but also accordingly increase the production cost. Interestingly, some reducing agents such as Si 3 N 4 and SiC that exhibit intrinsic reduction nature, have been utilized to synthesize certain transparent and colorless glasses activated with cerium ions. This strategy seems to be more effective in borosilicate, borogermanate, and borate glass systems as reported in our previous work.…”

“…Interestingly, some reducing agents such as Si 3 N 4 [13][14][15] and SiC 9 that exhibit intrinsic reduction nature, have been utilized to synthesize certain transparent and colorless glasses activated with cerium ions. This strategy seems to be more effective in borosilicate, 9 borogermanate, 13 and borate 14 15 Aluminum oxide, as one of the glass components, has also been reported to play a critical role in manipulating the valence state of europium ions in porous silica, 16,17 aluminoborate, 18 and aluminoborosilicate 19 glasses It is confirmed that Al 2 O 3 -modified glasses with both lower optical basicity and more rigid network seem to in favor of the lower valence state of europium ions. In recent years, AlN is considered to be one of the most powerful reduction agents for tuning dielectric, solubility, and optical properties of materials by tailoring the desired valence state of certain elements in both crystalline and amorphous materials.…”

Tuning the Oxidation States of Dopants: A Strategy for the Modulation of Material Photoluminescence Properties

“…Several groups have performed XPS analysis to characterize samples doped with Ce [17,52] , Eu [24,53,54] , or Mn [30,55] ions. quantification of each valence state of a dopant can be carried out [56][57][58][59][60][61] . In that respect, Avci et al [56] reported the investigation of Eu-doped CaAl 2 O 4 material.…”