Luminescence studies on ZnO-P2O5 glasses doped with Gd2O3:Eu nanoparticles and Eu2O3

Zinc phosphate glasses doped with Gd2O3:Eu nanoparticles and Eu2O3 were prepared by conventional melt-quench method and characterized for their luminescence properties. Binary ZnO-P2O5 glass is characterized by an intrinsic defect centre emission around 324 nm. Strong energy transfer from these defect centres to Eu3+ ions has been observed when Eu2O3 is incorporated in ZnO-P2O5 glasses. Lack of energy transfer from these defect centres to Eu3+ in Gd2O3:Eu nanoparticles doped ZnO-P2O5 glass has been attributed to effective shielding of Eu3+ ions from the luminescence centre by Gd-O-P type of linkages, leading to an increased distance between the luminescent centre and Eu3+ ions. Both doped and undoped glasses have the same glass transition temperature, suggesting that the phosphate network is not significantly affected by the Gd2O3:Eu nanoparticles or Eu2O3 incorporation.