Hollow tubular Tb3+and Yb3+ co-doped ordered mesoporous ZnO composite materials and its luminescent properties

Abstract In this study, a much regular hollow tubular ordered porous structure (Tb3+-Yb3+) SSA/ZnO composite was prepared by hydrothermal method. In the prepared process, an ordered porous zinc oxide was necessarily used as precursor which was prepared by soft template method. The sulfosalicylic acid was used as an organic ligand to provide energy for the energy level transfer of rare earths, which also showed the effect of the structure-directing agent for the structure. Yb3+ acted as a sensitizer which enhanced the luminescent intensity of Tb. Tb3+ was the luminescent center, it also acted a part of the mineralizer which influenced the morphology of samples. The sample showed a special hollow tubular structure which was assembled from many nanoparticles, and there were the ordered pores in the particles. The sample showed the emission peak at 489, 543, 585 and 620 nm, and the highest emission peak located at 543 nm. The optimum doping ratio of Tb3+ and Yb3+ was determined by the difference in fluorescence intensity. The porous ZnO promoted the emission intensity of rare earth ions, and greatly reduced the use of rare earth.