Sol–gel synthesis, structural and luminescence properties of MT-doped SiO2/Zn2SiO4 nanocomposites

The sol–gel method is used for the preparation of undoped, Mn and V-doped Zn2SiO4 particles embedded in SiO2 host matrix. The phase purity and morphological features were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations. The obtained SiO2/Zn2SiO4 nanocomposite, exhibits a strong photoluminescence (PL) band centered at around 760nm, attributed to energy transfer occurs from Zn2SiO4 particles to NBOHs interfaces defects. In addition, the PL spectrum for the SiO2/Zn2SiO4:Mn nanocomposite showed that a dominant peak at 525nm appeared, which originated from the 4T1–6A1 transitions of Mn2+ ions. In the case of SiO2/Zn2SiO4:V, the PL reveals a band centered at about 540nm attributed to the effect of the V5+ in the host matrix nanocomposite.