Observation and partly characterisation of silver nanoparticles in X-ray irradiated radiophotoluminescent phosphate glass

► Direct observation and characterisation of silver nanoparticles in X-ray irradiated phosphate glass were demonstrated. ► Correlations between the Ag+ concentration and X-ray-induced silver species were examined. ► Evidence of spherical silver nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 5 to 30 nm was obtained. ► Three-dimensional contour plots using combined excitation-emission spectroscopy were recorded.