Sol-gel combustion synthesis of high-quality chromium-doped mixed-metal garnets Y3Ga5O12 and Gd3Sc2Ga3O12

Abstract In this study the chromium-doped (0–20 mol% of Cr 3+ ) garnet structure materials Y 3 Ga 5 O 12 (YGG) and Gd 3 Sc 2 Ga 3 O 12 (GSGG) were synthesized via aqueous sol-gel combustion (SGC) method. The synthesis process was investigated by thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The phase formation at the following synthesis steps was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for the characterization of surface morphology of the end products. Luminescence properties were examined by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and decay time measurements (DT).