Photoluminescent, self-cleaning titanium oxide nanocomposites with multifunctional properties
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2014.Photoluminescent and self-cleaning properties of an Eu<sup>3+</sup> doped titania-silica-lanthanum phosphate nanocomposite (Eu-TSL) prepared by an aqueous sol-gel process and films fabricated on glass substrates by dip coating are inv...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Royal Society of Chemistry
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6624 |
| _version_ | 1848745130849206272 |
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| author | Smitha, V. Pillai, S. Saraswathy Hareesh, U. Nair, Balagopal Warrier, K. |
| author_facet | Smitha, V. Pillai, S. Saraswathy Hareesh, U. Nair, Balagopal Warrier, K. |
| author_sort | Smitha, V. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2014.Photoluminescent and self-cleaning properties of an Eu<sup>3+</sup> doped titania-silica-lanthanum phosphate nanocomposite (Eu-TSL) prepared by an aqueous sol-gel process and films fabricated on glass substrates by dip coating are investigated in the present work. These nanocomposites containing Eu<sup>3+</sup> as dopants exhibit red luminescence upon visible light excitation, after heat treatment at 400°C. For an excitation wavelength of 465 nm, the PL spectra of Eu-TSL show intense peaks at 613 nm (<sup>5</sup>D<inf>0</inf>-<sup>7</sup>F<inf>2</inf>), characteristic of Eu<sup>3+</sup> ions. This red emission has a life time of ~0.5 ms. 1 mol% Eu added TSL shows ~96% methylene blue dye degradation after two hours UV light exposure which is attributed to the presence of anatase phase, optimum crystallite size (5.7 nm) and enhanced specific surface area (147 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>-1</sup>). Eu-TSL was found to be five times more efficient in decolourization of methylene blue than Eu-TiO<inf>2</inf> from the reported literature. Eu-TSL retains all the major properties including photoactivity, transparency (~97%) and low wettability (~80°). In addition, red emission could be integrated at very low europium doping levels (1 mol%). Even though europium doping on titania is reported widely, a multifunctional luminescent and self-cleaning composition based on Eu-TSL synthesized by an aqueous sol-gel route is reported for the first time. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:12:28Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-6624 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:12:28Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-66242017-09-13T14:41:38Z Photoluminescent, self-cleaning titanium oxide nanocomposites with multifunctional properties Smitha, V. Pillai, S. Saraswathy Hareesh, U. Nair, Balagopal Warrier, K. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2014.Photoluminescent and self-cleaning properties of an Eu<sup>3+</sup> doped titania-silica-lanthanum phosphate nanocomposite (Eu-TSL) prepared by an aqueous sol-gel process and films fabricated on glass substrates by dip coating are investigated in the present work. These nanocomposites containing Eu<sup>3+</sup> as dopants exhibit red luminescence upon visible light excitation, after heat treatment at 400°C. For an excitation wavelength of 465 nm, the PL spectra of Eu-TSL show intense peaks at 613 nm (<sup>5</sup>D<inf>0</inf>-<sup>7</sup>F<inf>2</inf>), characteristic of Eu<sup>3+</sup> ions. This red emission has a life time of ~0.5 ms. 1 mol% Eu added TSL shows ~96% methylene blue dye degradation after two hours UV light exposure which is attributed to the presence of anatase phase, optimum crystallite size (5.7 nm) and enhanced specific surface area (147 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>-1</sup>). Eu-TSL was found to be five times more efficient in decolourization of methylene blue than Eu-TiO<inf>2</inf> from the reported literature. Eu-TSL retains all the major properties including photoactivity, transparency (~97%) and low wettability (~80°). In addition, red emission could be integrated at very low europium doping levels (1 mol%). Even though europium doping on titania is reported widely, a multifunctional luminescent and self-cleaning composition based on Eu-TSL synthesized by an aqueous sol-gel route is reported for the first time. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6624 10.1039/c4ra08910c Royal Society of Chemistry restricted |
| spellingShingle | Smitha, V. Pillai, S. Saraswathy Hareesh, U. Nair, Balagopal Warrier, K. Photoluminescent, self-cleaning titanium oxide nanocomposites with multifunctional properties |
| title | Photoluminescent, self-cleaning titanium oxide nanocomposites with multifunctional properties |
| title_full | Photoluminescent, self-cleaning titanium oxide nanocomposites with multifunctional properties |
| title_fullStr | Photoluminescent, self-cleaning titanium oxide nanocomposites with multifunctional properties |
| title_full_unstemmed | Photoluminescent, self-cleaning titanium oxide nanocomposites with multifunctional properties |
| title_short | Photoluminescent, self-cleaning titanium oxide nanocomposites with multifunctional properties |
| title_sort | photoluminescent, self-cleaning titanium oxide nanocomposites with multifunctional properties |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6624 |