Effects of the replacing content of ZnBr2 on the properties of ZnO-B2O3-SiO2:Mn2+ glass-ceramics

ZnBr2-doped ZnO-B2O3-SiO2:Mn2+ (ZBSM) optical-storage glass-ceramics were successfully prepared by a sol-gel method. The crystalline phase and microstructure of ZBSM were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The addition of ZnBr2 influenced the crystallization of the ZBSM glass-ceramics. Moreover, the effects of ZnBr2 additive on the preparation of glass-ceramics were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry. The optical storage properties of the samples were investigated by photoluminescence spectroscopy, long-lasting phosphor (LLP) decay curves, and thermoluminescence (TL) spectroscopy. The LLP decay curves show that the lower phonon energy of Br− ions generates more stable metastable energy. The TL spectra and Gaussian fitting indicate that the sample with 20 mol% ZnBr2 content exhibited the best performance.