Browsing by Author "Siyalo, Athenkosi"

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    Impact of different chemical synthesis techniques on the structural and photoluminescence properties of Zn4B6O13: RE3+ (where RE3+ = Sm3+, Eu3+, and Dy3+) nanophosphors
    (University of the Western Cape, 2023) Siyalo, Athenkosi; Halinditwali, Sylvain
    Different chemical synthesizing techniques, such as sol-gel, combustion, and solid-state reaction routes, offer the unique possibility of generating high-purity nanophosphors with different morphologies. In this project, we intend to do a comparative study on the structural and photoluminescence properties of Zn4B6O13:RE3+ (where RE3+ = Sm3+, Eu3+, and Dy3+) nanophosphors using the above-mentioned techniques. Up to now, the comparative study based on the synthesis techniques has not yet been reported. As it will be shown in the literature survey’s section, these methods were found to drastically affect the structural and photoluminescence characteristics of phosphor materials, which directs us to implement such studies on highly crystalline Zn4B6O13: RE3+ (where RE3+ = Sm3+, Eu3+, and Dy3+) nanophosphors. In this work, we intend to use different characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. In this study, we aim to justify the appropriate technique that will produce the best PL properties for Zn4B6O13: RE3+ (where RE3+ = Sm3+, Eu3+, and Dy3+) nanophosphors, which could be used as a benchmark for future researchers in solid-state lighting systems. The incorporation of the Sm3+, Eu3+, and Dy3+ dopants did not change the cubic crystal structure of the Zn4B6O13 host material, as confirmed by the XRD results. However, they caused a slight deviation to higher 2𝜃 values, which confirms the charge exchange between the dopants and the host.