Thermographic properties of Eu3+ and Sm3+ doped Lu2O3 nanophosphor

Abstract

The samples, Lu2O3:Eu3+ (3at.% Eu) and Lu2O3:Sm3+ (1at.% Sm), were prepared via polymer complex solution method using polyethlylene-glyocol as the fuel and as nucleation agent for crystallization process. Knowing that lutetium oxide has high chemical stability and temperature resistance, in this paper we investigated possibility for its application in high-temperature phosphor thermometry. It is a non-contact technique that uses the thermal dependence of phosphor fluorescence to measure temperature remotely. The structural and morphological properties were performed through X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations. The obtained results confirmed that this synthesis yields desired crystalline structure with particle size in the range from 30 to 50 nm. Photoluminescence emission measurements were recorded in the temperature range from room up to 873 K. The accomplished results demonstrate the performance of Eu3+ and Sm3+ doped Lu2O3 as high temperature thermographic phosphors of very good sensitivity.