Preparation and properties of Ag modified Tb-doped ZrO2 nanotube arrays

Tb-doped ZrO2 nanotube arrays were first prepared by anodizing the Zr-Tb alloys, and then Ag modified Tb-doped ZrO2 nanotube arrays were obtained by loading Ag onto the Tb-doped ZrO2 nanotube arrays through a thermal decomposition and formaldehyde reduction method. The influences of modification of Ag nanoparticles and AgNO3 concentrations (0.0001, 0.001, 0.01 M) on the light absorption and photoluminescence (PL) properties were determined. Results show that Ag modified samples prepared by the thermal decomposition method exhibited a significant surface plasmon resonance(SPR) effect, and that the absorption and PL emission peaks were markedly enhanced. Compared to the Tb-doped ZrO2 nanotube arrays, the PL intensity of the sample prepared using the thermal decomposition method in 0.001 M AgNO3 solution was enhanced by 45.8%. The samples prepared by the formaldehyde reduction method displayed excessive deposition and oversizing of Ag particles, resulting in worsening of the properties of samples.