Green synthesis, structural and luminescent characterization of BaZrO₃:Eu³⁺ nanoparticles

This paper presents experimental results of the structural, morphological, and luminescence characterization of Eu³⁺ doped BaZrO₃ powders produced by the green synthesis method. The highly crystalized cubic structure perovskite powders of the formula BaZrO₃ were synthesized by the chemical hydrothermal method. The phase of the compound and the average particle size were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Powder samples were characterized also by photoluminescence (PL) and thermoluminescence (TL) techniques. Results showed that BaZrO₃ crystallizes in its perovskite cubic phase, with a crystal size circa 40 nm. The presence of each element of the compound was confirmed by the energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) technique. The PL emission spectra, at room temperature, were obtained using 395 nm as excitation wavelength. The spectra showed the characteristic emissions of Eu³⁺ ion. The intensity of the PL emission spectra varies with the Eu³⁺ concentration and shows a maximum luminescence efficiency when the synthesis of BaZrO₃ was performed using a content of 5 mol% Eu³⁺. The thermoluminescence data shows that at the heating rate of 10 °C/s, BaZrO₃:Eu³⁺ doped with 5% of dopant concentration exhibits two TL peaks: first of them rapidly decaying peaks at about 110 °C and a high sensitivity peak at 235 °C TL. The correlation between luminescence intensity and concentration quenching of the prepared phosphor was investigated. Present findings substantiate the ability of the BaZrO₃ nanopowder sample to be a promising candidate for luminescence applications.