Rare earth-doped nanocrystalline MgF2: Synthesis, luminescence and thermoluminescence

•Evaluation of rare earth-doped MgF2 as potential thermosensor.•First investigation of luminescence and thermoluminescence of Ce-doped MgF2.•Investigation of photostability of charge traps responsible for thermoluminescence.

The radioluminescence (RL) and thermoluminescence (TL) activation of MgF2 through the incorporation of rare earths is investigated in this work. These materials were obtained by ligand-free solution precipitation and calcination at 500 °C in air, and Ce, Eu and Tb were incorporated at the 1 mol% level. RL results of doped and undoped materials seem to indicate that the incorporation of rare earths creates effective luminescence centers, which is accompanied by an increase in the TL signal intensity in comparison with the undoped material. In particular, RL emission of MgF2:Ce is reported to be centered at 325 nm. The traps associated with the TL signal were found to be unstable under exposure to room light, suggesting potential for applications involving optically stimulated luminescence.