Physical and optical study of Nd2O3 doped sodium borosilicate glasses

In this research, Nd2O3 doped sodium borosilicate glasses were produced using a standard melt quench technique. Various characterization techniques, such as XRD analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, density analysis, absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements, were used to investigate the synthesized glassy samples. XRD spectra demonstrated the amorphous existence in the studied glasses. FTIR analysis was used to determine the stretching and bending vibrations of various borate groups. The high molecular weight of Nd2O3 and the broader ionic radius of Nd3+ ions resulted the rise in molar volume (Vm) and density (q) with inclusion of Nd2O3. The optical band gap was observed to shrink with increasing Nd3+ ion concentrations. The intensity of Nd3+ emission spectra improved from 0.5 mol per cent to 1.0 mol per cent with Nd2O3 material and the concentration quenching was reported at concentrations higher than 1.0 mol percent. The emission spectra of the synthesised glass shows three notable peaks found at 902 nm (4F3/2?4I9/2), 1063 nm (4F3/2?4I11/2) and 1334 nm 4F3/2?4I13/2 of Nd3+ ions transitions. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 1st International Conference on Computations in Materials and Applied Engineering - 2021.