Electronic structure and luminescence assets in white-light emitting Ca2V2O7, Sr2V2O7 and Ba2V2O7 pyro-vanadates: X-ray absorption spectroscopy investigations.

Ca2V2O7, Sr2V2O7, and Ba2V2O7 pyro-vanadates were synthesized using a modified chemical precipitation method and annealing. Detailed crystal structure, morphology, electronic structure and optical properties were investigated by XRD, UV-visible absorption, FTIR, Raman, FE-SEM, XANES, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Rietveld refinement on the XRD patterns of Ca2V2O7, Sr2V2O7, and Ba2V2O7 has confirmed the triclinic structure (space group; P1̄(2)) of the pyro-vanadates. The band gap energy of Ca2V2O7, Sr2V2O7, and Ba2V2O7 is estimated to be ∼2.67 eV, ∼2.97 eV and ∼3.09 eV, respectively. XANES spectra at the Ca L-edge, Sr K-edge and Ba L-edge have confirmed the Ca2+, Sr2+ and Ba2+ ions in the Ca2V2O7, Sr2V2O7 and Ba2V2O7 compounds, respectively. V K-edge XANES spectra have strengthened the presence of sub-pentavalent V ions in all of the pyro-vanadates. O K-edge XANES spectra of Ca2V2O7, Sr2V2O7 and Ba2V2O7 have shown dominating tetrahedral symmetry of the V ions which is also corroborated with the V K-edge XANES. Broad-band emission spectra, ranging from 400 nm to 700 nm, have been observed from the charge-transfer transitions of VO4 tetrahedra. 3T1 → 1A1 and 3T2 → 1A1 transitions, from the VO4 tetrahedra, have provided two distinct emission peaks from the compounds which exhibit a red-shift with the decreasing ionic-radii of alkali-earth metal ions. The mixed compounds, with equal weight proportions, have shown remarkable emission characteristics towards the realization of rare-earth element free white-light-emitting devices.

Mechanistic insights on the electronic properties and electronic/atomic structure aspects in orthorhombic SrVO3 thin films: XANES-EXAFS study.

Correlations among the B-O6 octahedra distortions, existing polymorphous phases, band structures and electronic conductivities of ABO3 perovskites are matters for debate and require a deep understanding of their local atomic/electronic structures and diverse assets. In this study, to illustrate the distortion in V-O6 octahedra and its implication on the band structure and electronic properties, spectroscopic investigations on the RF-sputtering grown insulating SrVO3 thin films were employed using X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). V K-edge and V L3,2-edge XANES, along with atomic multiplet calculations, have confirmed the 4+ oxidation state of V ions in the pristine and annealed SrVO3 thin films. Lower t2g/eg peak intensity ratio and smaller energy separation between t2g and eg peaks in the O K-edge XANES spectra, compared to the VO2 reference sample, have confirmed a larger V-O6 distortion in the orthorhombic SrVO3 thin films. Moreover, from the EXAFS data analysis, the local orthorhombic structure has been identified in the pristine and annealed SrVO3 thin films, compelling significant distortion in the V-O6 octahedra. Dimerization in the vanadium chains and V-V twisting, caused by V-O6 octahedra distortion, manifests a miscellaneous ligand field interaction between O 2p and V 3d orbitals and facilitates (i) a larger separation between the bonding and antibonding d‖ orbitals and (ii) an upward shift of the π* band in the band structure, leading to larger band gaps in the insulating SrVO3 thin films. Our spectroscopy results may open up new avenues for the mechanism of insulating/conducting character in other complicated perovskite materials using XANES-EXAFS.

XANES, EXAFS and photoluminescence investigations on the amorphous Eu:HfO2.

We report detailed investigations on the local electronic/atomic structure and photoluminescence properties of chemically synthesized Eu:HfO2 powders. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed to analyze the crystal structure, local atomic/electronic structure and luminescence properties of the samples. No crystalline phases were detected with Cu Kα (λ=1.5418Å) based XRD; however, local monoclinic structure was confirmed by the Hf L-edge XANES and EXAFS. O K-edge XANES spectral features could be deconvoluted with doublets and triplets in eg and t2g orbitals, respectively, which ascribed to the local monoclinic structure for all of the samples. Eu M5,4-edge XANES confirmed the pre-dominancy of Eu3+ ions in the HfO2 samples with a fractional amount of Eu2+ ions. PL spectra revealed the electric dipole allowed (5D0-7F0,2,4) emission properties of Eu:HfO2 samples. The orange-red emission is ascribed to the Eu interstitial/surface segregation induced defects.

Bifunctional Ce(1-x)Eu(x)O2 (0 ≤x≤ 0.3) nanoparticles for photoluminescence and photocatalyst applications: an X-ray absorption spectroscopy study.

Ce1-xEuxO2 (0 ≤x≤ 0.3) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by the chemical precipitation method. The microstructures and morphology were characterized by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra at the Eu M5,4-edge and atomic-multiplet calculations revealed that Eu(3+) was predominantly present in the CeO2 lattice and Eu(2+) was negligibly present within the entire doping range. The detailed analysis of the Ce M5,4-edge and the O K-edge has shown strong dependence of the Ce(3+)/Ce(4+) ratio and oxygen vacancy with Eu content. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra at the Ce K-edge, along with theoretical fitting, have shown systematic variation in the coordination number, bond length and Debye-Waller factor with Eu doping. A blue shift in the absorption edge was observed which implies a net increase in the charge transfer gap between the O 2p and Ce 4f bands due to the increased number of Ce(3+) ions in the Eu doped samples. The excitation and emission spectra of pure CeO2 NPs did not show any photoluminescence (PL) characteristic; however, Ce1-xEuxO2 (x = 0.1-0.3) NPs showed significant improvements in the 4f-4f, (5)D0-(7)F2 and (5)D0-(7)F1 transitions induced luminescence properties. Eu doping has two major effects on the electronic structure and optical properties of CeO2 NPs: the first, at an Eu content of 10 mol%, is the formation of Ce(4+)-O-Eu(3+) networks, i.e., Eu(3+) ions substitute the Ce(4+) ions and introduce oxygen vacancies and Ce(3+) ions in the host lattice, which favors the (5)D0-(7)F2 induced PL properties. The other, at an Eu doping over 10 mol%, is the formation of both Ce(4+)-O-Eu(3+) and Ce(3+)-O-Eu(3+), i.e., Eu(3+) ions not only take substitutional sites of Ce(4+) ions but also replace a fraction of Ce(3+) ions in the CeO2 lattice which favors (5)D0-(7)F1 induced PL properties. As an application of CeO2 NPs towards the degradation of water pollutants, we demonstrated that the Ce1-xEuxO2 (0 ≤x≤ 0.3) NPs can serve as effective photocatalyst materials towards the degradation of the methyl-orange aqueous pollutant dye under UV light irradiation.

Electronic structure study of Ce1-xAxO2 (A = Zr & Hf) nanoparticles: NEXAFS and EXAFS investigations.

Single phase nanoparticles (NPs) of CeO2, Ce0.5Zr0.5O2, Ce0.5Hf0.5O2 and Ce0.5Hf0.25Zr0.25O2 were successfully synthesized by co-precipitation method at constant pH and temperature. The X-ray diffraction results revealed that the additive atoms did not segregate to form secondary phases but led to grain size variation in the NPs. The 10 Dq values in the near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra at the O K-edge did not vary in the same way as the average grain size was changed for the doped CeO2 NPs. The deconvolution of Ce M5-edge and detailed analysis of O K pre-edge peak have shown the higher Ce(+3)/(Ce(+3) + Ce(+4)) ratio in the Zr- and Hf-doped samples. The local atomic structure around the Ce, Zr and Hf atoms was investigated using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy at Ce K-edge, Zr K-edge and Hf L3-edge, respectively, and the EXAFS data were fitted with the theoretical calculations. The 4f occupancy, Ce(+3)/(Ce(+3) + Ce(+4)) ratio of Ce ions, coordination number of Ce and Ce-Ce/Ce-O bond distances were sensitive to the additive atoms but not explicitly changed according to the grain size variation in the NPs.