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Photoluminescent Properties of Eu3+ in Different γ-, η-, θ-, and α-Al2O3 Polymorphs

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Abstract

Photoluminescent properties of the Eu3+ ion as a probe are studied in γ-, η-, θ-, and α-Al2O3:Eu3+ polymorphs with an europium concentration of 0.05 wt.%. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Eu3+ ions are analyzed in the 5D0 → 7FJ (J = 0-4) transition region along with the asymmetry ratio, decay kinetics, and PL excitation spectra. It is found that Eu3+ ions incorporate into the Al2O3 lattice and occupy the site with the C3v local symmetry. The biexponential nature of the Eu3+ PL decay kinetics in γ-, η-, θ-, and Al2O3:Eu3+ polymorphs is shown to be due to the occurrence of Eu3+ ions both in the bulk and at subsurface sites. For α-Al2O3:Eu3+ the concentration of surface centers is minimum and the PL decay kinetics is described only by one exponent. Based on the comprehensive analysis of the obtained results on PL of single-phase Al2O3 powders, the characteristic features are revealed, such as PL intensity, electronic structure of 5D0 → 7FJ transitions, asymmetry ratio, position of the O2– → Eu3+ charge transfer band, and 5D0 lifetimes. These characteristics allow the use of Eu3+ ions as structure-sensitive probes to study the local structure of Al2O3 and to identify its phase composition during structural transformations.

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Funding

The work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation within the State Assignment for the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (project AAAA-A21-121011390009-1 and AAAA-A21-121011490008-3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia

    A. I. Kostyukov, M. G. Baronskii & A. V. Zhuzhgov

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  1. A. I. Kostyukov
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  2. M. G. Baronskii
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Correspondence to A. I. Kostyukov.

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Russian Text © The Author(s), 2023, published in Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, 2023, Vol. 64, No. 12, 119770.https://doi.org/10.26902/JSC_id119770

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Kostyukov, A.I., Baronskii, M.G. & Zhuzhgov, A.V. Photoluminescent Properties of Eu3+ in Different γ-, η-, θ-, and α-Al2O3 Polymorphs. J Struct Chem 64, 2391–2403 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0022476623120119

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