title: Novel sol-gel precursors for thin mesoporous eu(3+)-doped silica coatings as efficient luminescent materials.
abstract: Europium(III) ions containing mesoporous silica coatings have been prepared via a solvent evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) approach of different single-source precursors (SSPs) in the presence of Pluronic P123 as a structure-directing agent, using the spin-coating process. A deliberate tailoring of the chemical composition of the porous coatings with various Si:Eu ratios was achieved by processing mixtures of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and Eu(3+)-coordinated SSPs. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses demonstrate that the thin metal oxide-doped silica coatings consist of a porous network with a short-range order of the pore structure, even at high europium(III) loadings. Furthermore, luminescence properties were investigated at different temperatures and different degrees of Eu(3+) contents. The photoluminescence spectra clearly show characteristic emission peaks corresponding to the (5)D0 → (7)FJ (J = 0-5) transitions resulting in a red luminescence visible by the eyes, although the films have a very low thickness (150-200 nm).
authors.affiliation: Materials Chemistry, Paris-Lodron University Salzburg , Hellbrunner Str. 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feinle
authors.forename: Flavie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lavoie-Cardinal
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Akbarzadeh
authors.forename: Herwig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Peterlik
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adlung
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wickleder
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hüsing
keywords: SiO2/Eu2O3; luminescence; single-source precursor; sol gel process; thin films