Luminescence properties and tunable emission of Ag NCs in oxyfluoride glass through REF3 (RE= Y, La and Gd) doping

In this research, series of Ag nanoclusters (Ag NCs) contained oxyfluoride glasses were prepared by using the melt quenching method, in which the REF3 (RE= Y, La and Gd) were selected as dopants to control their size distribution. The absorption, steady and time-resolved PL spectra were carried to investigate the size dependent luminescence properties of Ag NCs. The spectral results indicated that the super broadband emission of Ag NCs is contributed by the spin-allowed (blue side) and the spin-forbidden (red side) transitions, respectively. Besides, the introduction of REF3 (RE= Y, La and Gd) can promote the formation of Ag NCs with different sizes and therefore modulated their luminescence properties. The maximum external quantum yields of Ag NCs with emissions at 430, 510, 520 and 570 nm were evaluated to be 24.6%, 40.7%, 56.3% and 30.7%, respectively, which can be obtained in SAg, SAgLa, SAgGd, and SAgY. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.