Luminescence properties of ZrO2 mesoporous thin films doped with Eu3+ and Agn

Rare earth doped zirconium oxides are of interest as active materials in high-performance luminescent devices. Transparent ZrO2:Eu3+ mesoporous thin films with different doping ion concentrations were prepared by Evaporation Induced Self Assembly (EISA). The films exhibited high specific area and periodicity through connected networks of nanometer scaled pores. Thermal treatments at 600 °C allowed the conversion of amorphous films into semi-crystalline ones. A detailed analysis of the structural and optical characterizations revealed that the Eu3+ ions sit inside the ZrO2 tetragonal crystallites as well as in the enriched zirconia amorphous phase of the walls nanoarchitecture. The introduction of silver nanoparticles in the porous network allowed to a strong modulation of the photoluminescence emission intensity.

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► Study of the locations adopted by Eu3+ within zirconia mesoporous thin films.
► Signature of the two types of sites occupied by Eu3+ in mesoporous zirconia thin films.
► Strong modulation of the luminescence intensity via introduction of Agn within the pores.