Effect of AgCl on spectroscopic properties of erbium doped zinc tellurite glass

The Er3+ doped zinc tellurite glass containing Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized from high purity raw materials by melt quenching method and the influence of Ag NPs on the spectroscopic properties were investigated. The glasses are characterized using DTA, EDX, TEM, FTIR, UV–Vis–NIR and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. The DTA data reveal that the addition of silver chloride increased the thermal stability from 0.52 to 0.67 for samples without and with 2 mol% AgCl respectively. The sharp peaks in EDX spectra show the presence of Ag nanocrystallites. The TEM micrograph shows the distribution of NPs is Gaussian and the average size is estimated ∼10 nm. Seven absorption bands of erbium were evidenced in the UV–Vis–NIR measurements. Optical band gap and density were found to decrease with addition of AgCl concentration, while molar volume increased. The PL spectra exhibit four peaks corresponding to 2H11/2 → 4I15/2, 4S3/2 → 4I15/2, 4F9/2 → 4I15/2 and 4S3/2 → 4I13/2 transitions. An enhancement in the order of six times for 2 mol% of dopant and a subsequent quench in luminescence spectra of co-doped zinc tellurite glasses were observed. Such enhancements were attributed to silver nanoparticles with average size of 10 nm and absorption band centered at 552 nm. The studied glasses provide enormous scope to achieve the materials suitable for nanophotonics, solid state lasers and color displays.

► Zinc tellurite glasses containing Er3+ or Er3+/Ag NPs were prepared by melt quench method.
► Addition of AgCl increased the thermal stability of erbium–zinc-tellurite glass.
► Addition of AgCl enhanced the upconversion emission of Er3+ up to six times.
► Silver NPs were observed with average size of 10 nm with plasmon band at 552 nm.