Time-resolved luminescence studies of Eu3+ in soda-lime silicate glasses

- Time resolved luminescence studies of Eu(III) in soda-lime silicate glass show the existence of two different species.
- Mismatch of Judd-Ofelt parameters are obtained from absorption and emission spectroscopy.
- Eu(III) has less clustering tendency when Eu2O3 concentration decreases and when CaO concentration increases.

Soda-lime glasses doped with Eu3+ were synthesized using a variety of compositions, namely changing the fraction of CaO or Eu2O3. Those glasses were characterized with several techniques, including ellipsometry, UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy, steady-state photoluminescence spectroscopy and time-resolved luminescence. The compositions' effects on optical properties such as refraction indexes, Eu3+ oscillator strengths and luminescence lifetimes were accessed from the analysis of the experimental results. Judd-Ofelt theory was used to analyze all these aspects, which allow the detection of a mismatch of optical properties from absorption and emission spectroscopy. This mismatch was confirmed from the time-resolved data, showing the existence of two different spectroscopic Eu3+ species. From those results it is concluded that there is evidence for lanthanide aggregation, giving rise to self-quenching effects that may be described through resonance energy transfer mechanisms. The difference between luminescence lifetimes for isolated and aggregated Eu(III) is interpreted as due to different interactions with oxygen in the matrix, namely degree of covalency of the Eu-O bond and point group symmetry of the lanthanide.