Regulation of gold nanoparticles for the rare earth luminescence enhancement based on nanoporous silica glass

A silica composite system with rare earth ions and gold nanoparticles was fabricated based on nanoporous silica glass. The formation and optical properties of the systems were controlled by the nanoparticles doping concentration and heat treatment. The luminescence intensity dependence on the HAuCl4 doping concentration and heat-treated temperature were investigated. At the optimized concentration of HAuCl4 and heat-treated temperature, the maximal luminescence intensity can be enhanced up to 14.33-fold for Yb2+ and 10.52-fold for Eu2+. It is indicated that the rare earth ions luminescence can be regulated by interactions distance between different types of RE ions and metal NPs as well as the state of nanopores.