Eu3+-doped Ba2TiSi2O8 glass-ceramic powder incorporated in sintered porous glass: Structural and optical characterization

A porous silica glass was used as host for Eu3+-doped Ba2TiSi2O8 (BTS) glass-ceramic powder, which was embedded in the porous structure. Fluorescence upon UV excitation changes drastically from pink color in the un-treated porous glass to blue color in the sintered glass, in which the characteristic Eu3+ emission in red-orange spectral range is inhibited. The native and the sintered porous glass present an intrinsic fluorescence in the blue spectral region upon UV excitation, which is related with defects in the silica network. The microstructure and elemental distribution in the sintered glass was investigated by TEM and EDX and related with the luminescence properties.