Produção do BaAl2O4 dopado com Eu3+ em baixa temperatura : investigação da influência da rota de síntese, temperatura e tempo de calcinação nas propriedades ópticas

Abstract

In this work, the synthesis condition (complexing agent and temperature and time of calcination) were studied aiming to produce BaAl2O4 samples in the ferroelectric hexagonal phase. Pure and Eu3+ - doped samples were produced and its luminescent properties were investigated. BaAl2O4 was prepared using several thermal treatment conditions, via an alternative sol-gel route, using coconut water or PVA as the complexing agents. The sample production at 600ºC/5h is quite interesting, since to date the lowest calcination temperatures found in the literature was 650 º C using reagents with high degree of toxicity DTA / TG measurements indicated a possible start of the crystallization of the material at approximately 600 º C, and the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) confirm the formation of the desired phase of the calcined barium aluminate at that temperature. The results of the Rietveld refinements showed the occurrence of secondary phase in the samples produced at 600 º C / 5h, presenting 5% of phase Ba(NO3)2, while single phase was found for samples calcined at 1200 º C for 2 and 5h. Analysis of the diffractogram by the Scherrer equation showed smaller crystallite size for samples calcified at 600 ºC/5h, but apparently with a lower degree of crystallinity than the sample prepared at 1200 º C/ 2 and 5h. The photoluminescence measurements showed that the emission spectra of the samples have great dependence on the times, temperatures and complexing agents used. In particular, samples calcined at 600 º C have very different characteristics with regard to the probabilities of emissions associated with Eu3+ when compared with samples produced at higher temperatures. Differences observed in the spectra of samples produced via different complexing agents are possibly due to defects created in the materials by impurities present in the coconut water. Samples produced using PVA present sites with higher symmetry, which was evidenced by a lower relative emission of the 5D0-7F2 transition, which is hypersensitive to site symmetry. Analysis of PL measurements performed on pure samples showed a broad emission band, indicating that the material has intrinsic luminescence in all cases. This band is possibly due to the intrinsic defects, F centers and F + centers emisisons. The radioluminescent spectra presented emissions referring to both the Eu3+ and Eu2+ ions, indicating reduction of the europium ion. It was confirmed that this reduction is due to the incident radiation, since XANES measurements showed that only Eu3+ is present in the materials produced. From the comparison between the radioluminescent spectra it was concluded that the samples calcined at 600 º C have a higher stability of the Eu3+ ions incorporated in the matrix, being more difficult the reduction due to the radiation.