Investigation on Indium-Silver Alloy Nanocrystal-Glass Composites with Enhanced Fluorescence

We demonstrated a model to realize the growth of indium-silver alloy nanocrystals in borosilicate glass by sol-gel method. The presence of spherical indium-silver alloy nanoparticles with 5 nm average grain size and finely dispersed form in borosilicate glass was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy imaging. Reduction of indium-silver ions to indium-silver alloy neutral nanoparticles was revealed through X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectra. Remarkably, Indium-silver alloy nanocrystal-borosilicate glass exhibited fluorescence at around 423 nm.