Temperature Dependence of the Fluorescence Emission Intensity of Eu/TiO₂ Nanocrystals

The samples of europium ions doped titanium dioxide (Eu³+/TiO²) nanocrystals are synthesized by a modified sol-gel method with hydrothermal treatment. The x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy are used to characterize the sample. The temperature-dependent fluorescence emission effect of Eu³⁺-doped samples is investigated. It is found that under the excitation of 514.5nm light, the emission intensity of Eu ³⁺ reaches a maximum value at 450K among various Eu ³⁺ dopant concentrations in
Eu³⁺/TiO₂ nanocrystals. The variation of the emission intensity may be attributed to the photon-assist absorption and the temperature-quenching effect.