White light emitting potential of samarium and dysprosium co-doped tellurite glass: effect of various gold nanoparticles contents

Abstract This paper reports the influence of gold nanoparticle (Au NPs) concentration variation on the physical properties of some Sm 3+ /Dy 3+ co-doped zinc-sodium tellurite glasses. These glasses with composition of (58.8–z) TeO 2 –25ZnO–15Na 2 O–0.8Sm 2 O 3 –0.4Dy 2 O 3 –zAu (where z = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10 mol%) were prepared via the melt-quenching approach and characterized. The obtained samples were transparent and amorphous. An increase in the glass density and refractive index was observed with the increase of Au NPs concentrations. FTIR and Raman spectra of the glasses identified vibration modes related to various chemical functional groups. The temperatures for the glass transition, crystallization, and melting were changed with the variation of Au NPs contents. The optical absorption spectra of the glasses showed 16 characteristic peaks (in the range of 350–1700 nm) of Sm 3+ and Dy 3+ transitions together with the localized surface plasmon absorption peak of Au NPs. The luminescence spectra under 380 nm excitation showed five significant peaks around 400–750 nm. The fluorescence lifetime decay profiles and Commission Internationale de l'éclairage (CIE) 1391 color chromaticity diagram exhibited the corresponding moderate white-light emission and color purity, indicating the white-light-emitting potency of the proposed glass system. It was surmised that by controlling Au NPs contents, the optical characteristics of the glass system can be customized.