Luminescent, structural and mechanical properties of erbium oxide doped natural obsidian glasses

Abstract In this study, natural volcanic Obsidian glass doped with Er2O3 (0.5, 1, 3, 5, and 10 wt.%) were prepared by melt quenching method, and the physical, structural, and mechanical properties were investigated. Micro-Vickers indentation test was used to determine the mechanical properties. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was conducted for the structure of glasses. The spectroscopy analyses of the glasses were investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectra. The luminescence properties of samples were investigated. Raman spectroscopy was performed to observe the effect of Erbium concentration on sintered and non-sintered Er2O3 doped obsidian glasses. The excitation and emission bands increased with the addition of Er2O3 and the shift in the red region was observed. The amorphous phase of synthesized natural obsidian glasses (NOG) was confirmed from XRD patterns and Fracture toughness (KIC) enhanced from 1.65 to 1.76 MPa.m1/2 with 1 wt.% Er2O3 addition.