Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1877610 | Applied Radiation and Isotopes | 2014 | 4 Pages |
•Thermo and photoluminescent properties of nanoparticles (NPs) of hafnium oxide (HfO2), both intrinsic and doped with terbium (Tb3+) were analyzed.•Nanoparticles of HfO2:Tb3+ were grown by hydrothermal route.•Thermoluminescence of HfO2:Tb3+ nanoparticles suggests good candidate as UVR dosimeter.•Thermoluminescence of HfO2:Tb3+ suggests shallow traps as luminescent center.
Thermo and photoluminescent properties of nanoparticles (NPs) of hafnium oxide (HfO2), both intrinsic and doped with terbium (Tb3+) are reported. The NPs of HfO2 were synthesized by hydrothermal route, using hafnium tetrachloride (HfCl4) and terbium chloride hexahydrated (TbCl3∙6H2O) as precursors and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to adjust the pH. Deionized water was used as solvent in all cases. The synthesis was carried out at different dopant concentrations from 0 to 20 at% of terbium with respect to the amount of hafnium in the precursor solution. The temperature of hydrothermal treatment was 200 °C and 80 min of reaction time. X-ray diffraction results show that at terbium concentrations higher than 15 at% the HfO2 nanoparticles have a crystalline structure corresponding to the tetragonal phase. Thermoluminescent (TL) characterization was performed after 5 min irradiation of the samples with ultraviolet light of 200 nm wavelength. The highest TL emission was observed on samples with 7 at% of Tb, with the TL peak centered at 128 °C. Thermoluminescence analysis shows behavior associated with second-order kinetics with activation energy of 0.49 eV. Photoluminescent spectrum present the characteristics 5D4→7FJ (J=3–6) terbium ion electronic transitions lines centered on 489 nm, 543 nm, 584 nm and 622 nm.