Structural, EPR, optical and Raman studies of Nd2O3:Cu2+ nanophosphors

Nanocrystalline Nd(2)O(3):Cu(2+) (2mol %) phosphors have been prepared by a low temperature solution combustion technique. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) results confirm that hexagonal A-type Nd(2)O(3) (900°C, 3h) and the lattice parameters have been evaluated by Rietveld refinement. Surface morphology of as-formed and Cu(2+) doped Nd(2)O(3) phosphors show that the particles are irregular in shape and porous in nature. TEM results also confirm the nature and size of the particles. The EPR spectrum exhibits two resonance signals with effective g values at g(ǀǀ)≈2.12 and g(⊥)≈2.04. The g values indicate that the site symmetry of Cu(2+) ions is octahedral symmetry with elongated tetragonal distortion. Raman studies show major peaks, which are assigned, to F(g) and combination of A(g)+E(g) modes. It is observed that the Raman peaks and intensity have been reduced in Cu(2+) doped samples. UV-Visible absorption spectra exhibit a strong and broad absorption band at ∼240nm. Further, the absorption peak shifts to ∼14nm in Cu(2+) doped samples. The optical band gap is estimated to be 5.28eV for Cu doped Nd(2)O(3) nanoparticles which are higher than the bulk Nd(2)O(3) (4.7eV). This can be attributed to the quantum confinement effect of the nanoparticles.