Investigating the thermographical effect on optical properties of Eu doped Y2O3:TiO2 nanocomposite synthesized via sol-gel method

Abstract Recent developments in nanocomposites have attracted the interest of researchers in synthesizing nanocomposite-based photoluminescent materials. Lanthanides have been studied extensively as photoluminescent materials especially the Europium, owing to their simple energy level diagram, long luminescence lifetime, high emission quantum yield, and narrow emission bands in the visible region. The major limitation of using Europium for its practical application as a luminescent material is its low absorption coefficient that prevents the direct excitation of the Eu3+ ions. To improve the absorption, Europium has been doped with Y2O3 due to its similar energy level scheme i.e., 5D2 and 5L6. In our work, we have prepared Europium doped Y2O3:TiO2 nanocomposite and investigated its structural, morphological, and optical properties using characterization tools such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), High resolution transmission electron spectroscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Elemental mapping, UV–vis-IR, and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The material showed good optical properties and its application as a thermographic phosphor is studied via coating a NUV-LED and observing the change in intensity with varying temperature under UV irradiation. The material can be used as a thermographic phosphor and even for the LED fabrication.