Synthesis and Investigation of Novel Optical Active SiO2 Glasses with Entrapped YAG:Ce Synthesized via Sol-Gel Method

Monika Skruodiene; Meldra Kemere; Greta Inkrataite; Madara Leimane; Rimantas Ramanauskas; Ramunas Skaudzius; Anatolijs Sarakovskis

doi:10.3390/gels9060488

Synthesis and Investigation of Novel Optical Active SiO₂ Glasses with Entrapped YAG:Ce Synthesized via Sol-Gel Method

Gels. 2023 Jun 13;9(6):488. doi: 10.3390/gels9060488.

Authors

Monika Skruodiene¹, Meldra Kemere¹, Greta Inkrataite², Madara Leimane¹, Rimantas Ramanauskas³, Ramunas Skaudzius², Anatolijs Sarakovskis¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia, Kengaraga str. 8, LV-1063 Riga, Latvia.
² Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences, Vilnius University, Naugarduko 24, LT-03225 Vilnius, Lithuania.
³ State Research Institute Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio av. 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania.

Abstract

We present a crack-free optically active SiO₂ glass-composite material containing YAG:Ce synthesized via a modified sol-gel technique. A glass-composite material consisting of yttrium aluminum garnet doped with Ce³⁺ (YAG:Ce) was entrapped into a SiO₂ xerogel. This composite material was prepared using a sol-gel technique with modified gelation and a drying process to obtain crack-free optically active SiO₂ glass. The concentration of the YAG:Ce was from 0.5 to 2.0 wt%. All synthesized samples were characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, confirming their exceptional quality and structural integrity. The luminescence properties of the obtained materials were studied. Overall, the prepared samples' excellent structural and optical quality makes them great candidates for further investigation, or even potential practical application. Furthermore, boron-doped YAG:Ce glass was synthesized for the first time.

Keywords: SiO2; YAG:Ce; glass; luminescence; optical active; sol–gel; synthesis.

Grants and funding

The work of Monika Skruodiene is supported by ERDF PostDoc project No.1.1.1.2/VIAA/3/19/480. The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART².