Improvement of luminescent materials composed of Tb(III) ions, WO3 nanoparticles and silica xerogel as a matrix

Abstract Nanoparticles of tungsten trioxide, WO3, are used to enhance the luminescence emission intensity of terbium(III) ions embedded in a silica matrix. Optically active components have been incorporated into silica xerogel by impregnation of silica xerogel immersed firstly in WO3 sol and subsequently in a solution with Tb(III). Photoluminescence studies make it possible to describe a plausible mechanism of the Tb(III) enhanced luminescence that could be attributed to energy transfer via excited WO3 nanoparticles to Tb(III) ions in the system: Tb(III) ions–WO3 nanocrystals–SiO2. The effect related to WO3 nanoparticles of various sizes influences not only changes in the emission intensity and band shifting of WO3 nanostructures but also the same spectral parameters of the emitting Tb(III) ions.