Surface Plasmon Assisted Luminescence Enhancement of Ag NP/NWs-Doped SiO 2 -TiO 2 -ZrO 2 :Eu 3+ Ternary System

Non-hydrolytic sol-gel process was employed to prepare Eu3+-doped and silver nanoparticles/nanowires (Ag NP/NWs) co-doped SiO2-TiO2-ZrO2 ternary matrix. XRD, TEM, and SAED analyses revealed that the matrix is of amorphous nature even the crystalline nanoparticles/nanowires are embedded. The formation of ternary matrix is further evidenced by the characteristic peaks in FTIR spectrum and EDS analysis. The emission intensity is enhanced by sixfold for Ag NPs and eightfold for Ag NWs embedded matrix and is probably due to Surface Plasmon Coupled Emission (SPCE). Above the critical concentration of 1 wt.% Ag NP and 1.5 wt.% Ag NW, the emission intensity starts to diminish because of quenching effects. CIE chromaticity studies confirm that the addition of Ag NP/NWs into Eu3+-doped ternary matrix does not alter the color coordinates and purity of the present system. These Eu3+-Ag NP/NWs-doped ternary systems could be used as a promising material for efficient red light emitting sources, bio-detection, and plasmonic sensor applications.