Physical Properties of Tb3+ and Ho3+ Ions Embedded in Nanocomposites Phospho-Silicate

E.H. Ahmeda, A. Amina, M.M.H. Ayouba, A.I. Hashemb, I.K. Battishac aPolymers and Pigments Department, National Research Centre (NRC), 33 El Bohouth Str., Dokki, Giza, Egypt bChemistry Department, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt cSolid State Physics Department, Physics Research Division, National Research Centre (NRC), 33 El Behooth Str., Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Received: July 13, 2019; in final form March 6, 2020

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The use of sol-gel technique to fabricate phospho-silicate nanocomposite SiO2-P2O5 based glasses containing 20 mol.% P2O5 deposited on quartz silica substrate is presented in this work. Particularly, terbium Tb3+ and holmium Ho3+ ions were doped in the mentioned host matrix. A variety of material studies were carried out for the investigation of the physical properties of these new materials, such as the Fourier transform infrared and X-ray diffraction. The X-ray diffraction confirmed that the silica gel crystallization was enhanced as a result of the phosphorus existence. Moreover, the functional groups of the prepared nanocomposite samples were detected from the Fourier transform infrared analyses. The morphology of prepared monolith samples was characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The surface morphology of both the thin film and monolith samples were confirmed using field emission scanning electron microscopy.

DOI:10.12693/APhysPolA.137.1037 topics: nanocomposite, thin film, phospho-silicate and monolith