Erbium environment in ZnO:Er polycrystalline fibers produced by electrospinning

Danilo Mustafa, Ji Wu, Jeffery L. Coffer, Leandro R. Tessler

Research output: Contribution to book or proceedingConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Erbium-doped polycrystalline ZnO fibers were prepared by electrospinning. Organometallic Zn and Er (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 % ErZZn ratio) precursors dissolved in methanol, DI water and acetic acid were forced through a syringe needle. An electric field of 20 kV over 16 cm was used to promote the growth of fibers from the needle to a rotating drum. The resulting material consisted of entangled fibers with 0.5 to 1 μm typical diameter. The as-prepared samples present faint Er3+ luminescence at 1.5 μm when excited by the 488 nm line of an Ar+ laser. This luminescence intensity increases up to 25 times when the samples are annealed for 30 min at 500°C in air. The effect of annealing over the Er environment was determined by EXAFS measurements at the Er L3 edge. In all as-prepared samples Er is coordinated to 8.0 ± 0.5 oxygen atoms at up to 2.33 ± 0.02 Å interatomic separation. After annealing the coordination is reduced to 5.9 ± 0.5 and the atomic separation becomes 2.29 ± 0.02 Å. This is comparable to Er2O3 where the coordination is 6 and the first neighbor distance is 2.26 ± 0.02 Å. The overcoordination in the as-prepared samples is consistent with the Er L3 edge at 8361.7 ± 0.5 eV compared to 8360.4 ± 0.5 eV in the annealed samples and 8359.9 ± 0.5 eV in Er2O3. In conclusion, the annealing of electrospun ZnO:Er fibers makes the Er environment more similar to that of Er2O3 increasing the luminescence efficiency.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationZinc Oxide and Related Materials-2007
Pages152-157
Number of pages6
StatePublished - 2008
Event2007 MRS Fall Meeting - Boston, MA, United States
Duration: Nov 26 2007Nov 30 2007

Publication series

NameMaterials Research Society Symposium Proceedings
Volume1035
ISSN (Print)0272-9172

Conference

Conference2007 MRS Fall Meeting
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBoston, MA
Period11/26/0711/30/07

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