X-ray Excited Optical Luminescence of Eu in Diamond Crystals Synthesized at High Pressure High Temperature

Vasily T Lebedev; Fedor M Shakhov; Alexandr Ya Vul; Arcady A Zakharov; Vladimir G Zinoviev; Vera A Orlova; Eduard V Fomin

doi:10.3390/ma16020830

X-ray Excited Optical Luminescence of Eu in Diamond Crystals Synthesized at High Pressure High Temperature

Materials (Basel). 2023 Jan 15;16(2):830. doi: 10.3390/ma16020830.

Authors

Vasily T Lebedev¹, Fedor M Shakhov², Alexandr Ya Vul², Arcady A Zakharov¹, Vladimir G Zinoviev¹, Vera A Orlova³, Eduard V Fomin¹

Affiliations

¹ B.P.Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute of NRC Kurchatov Institute, 188300 Gatchina, Russia.
² Ioffe Institute, Polytekhnicheskaya Street, 26, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia.
³ V.G.Khlopin Radium Institute, 188300 Gatchina, Russia.

Abstract

Powder diamonds with integrated europium atoms were synthesized at high pressure (7.7 GPa) and temperature (1800 °C) from a mixture of pentaerythritol with pyrolyzate of diphthalocyanine (C₆₄H₃₂N₁₆Eu) being a special precursor. In diamonds prepared by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, we have found a concentration of Eu atoms of 51 ± 5 ppm that is by two orders of magnitude greater than that in natural and synthetic diamonds. X-ray diffraction, SEM, X-ray exited optical luminescence, and Raman and IR spectroscopy have confirmed the formation of high-quality diamond monocrystals containing Eu and a substantial amount of nitrogen (~500 ppm). Numerical simulation has allowed us to determine the energy cost of 5.8 eV needed for the incorporation of a single Eu atom with adjacent vacancy into growing diamond crystal (528 carbons).

Keywords: X-ray; diamond; diphthalocyanine; lanthanide; luminescence; pyrolyzate; synthesis.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, grant number 18-29-19008, partially by Kurchatov Institute according to the state assignment for the theme “2.4. Carbon based nanomaterials” and by Governor fellowship of Leningrad district personally for V.T.Lebedev.