PL and TL behaviors of Ag-doped SnO₂nanoparticles: effects of thermal annealing and Ag concentration

In this article, we present the effects of Ag doping and after-growth thermal annealing on the photoluminescence (PL) and thermoluminescence (TL) behaviors of $SnO_2$ nanoparticles. $SnO_2$ nanoparticles of 4-7 nm size range containing different Ag contents were synthesized by hydrothermal process. It has been observed that the after-growth thermal annealing process enhances the crystallite size and stabilizes the TL emissions of $SnO_2$ nanostructures. Incorporated Ag probably occupies the interstitial sites of the $SnO_2$ lattice, affecting drastically their emission behaviors on thermal annealing. Both the TL response and dose-linearity of the $SnO_2$ nanoparticles improve on 1.0% Ag doping, and subsequent thermal annealing. However, a higher Ag content causes the formation of Ag clusters, reducing both the TL and PL responses of the nanoparticles.