Study on structure and photoluminescence of Tb-doped ZnAl–NO3 layered double hydroxides prepared by co-precipitation

• We prepare Tb-doped ZnAl layered double hydroxides by co-precipitation.
• We investigate the structure and photoluminescence of Tb-doped LDHs.
• ZnAl-LDHs system is favorable for the Tb3+ green emissions.
• The structure of Tb-doped ZnAl-LDHs is different from those of literature.

Tb-doped ZnAl–NO3 layered double hydroxides (LDHs), with Zn2+/(Al3++Tb3+) molar ratio of 1.3, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0, were prepared by co-precipitation and investigated by various characterization. The compositional analysis reveals that the chemical composition of the Tb-doped LDHs is in agreement with that of the raw materials. XRD patterns show that all the samples present a single phase corresponding to hexagonal structure of LDHs. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) exhibits characteristic bands attributed to –OH and NO3− groups as well as metal–oxygen vibration. Photoluminescence suggests the characteristic emissions ascribed to 5D4–7FJ (J = 3, 4, 5, 6) transitions, indicating the permission of 5D4–7FJ transitions for Tb3+ ions in the ZnAl–NO3-LDHs system. The ratio of (5D4–7F5)/(5D4–7F6) emission intensity, which is highly hypersensitive to Tb3+ surroundings, increases with increasing molar ratio of Zn2+/(Al3++Tb3+). These results confirm the formation of the Tb-doped ZnAl–NO3 layered double hydroxides with luminescent property.

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