Energy structure and fluorescence of <span class="aps-inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">Eu</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup></mrow></math></span> in ZnS:Eu nanoparticles

Wei Chen; Jan-Olle Malm; Valery Zwiller; Yining Huang; Shuman Liu; Reine Wallenberg; Jan-Olov Bovin; Lars Samuelson

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.61.11021

Energy structure and fluorescence of ${Eu}^{2 +}$ in ZnS:Eu nanoparticles

Wei Chen, Jan-Olle Malm, Valery Zwiller, Yining Huang, Shuman Liu, Reine Wallenberg, Jan-Olov Bovin, and Lars Samuelson

Phys. Rev. B 61, 11021 – Published 15 April 2000

Abstract

${Eu}^{2 +}$ -doped ZnS nanoparticles with an average size of around 3 nm were prepared, and an emission band around 530 nm was observed. By heating in air at 150 °C, this emission decreased, while the typical sharp line emission of ${Eu}^{3 +}$ increased. This suggests that the emission around 530 nm is from intraion transition of ${Eu}^{2 +} .$ In bulk ${Z n S : E u}^{2 +},$ no intraion transition of ${Eu}^{2 +}$ was observed because the excited states of ${Eu}^{2 +}$ are degenerate with the continuum of the ZnS conduction band. We show that the band gap in ${Z n S : E u}^{2 +}$ nanoparticles opens up due to quantum confinement, such that the conduction band of ZnS is higher than the first excited state of ${Eu}^{2 +},$ thus enabling the intraion transition of ${Eu}^{2 +}$ to occur.

Received 16 November 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.61.11021

Authors & Affiliations

Wei Chen^*

Centre for Chemical Physics and Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 3K7
Department of Inorganic Chemistry 2, Chemical Centre, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, S-22100, Lund, Sweden

Jan-Olle Malm

Department of Inorganic Chemistry 2, Chemical Centre, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, S-22100, Lund, Sweden

Valery Zwiller

Department of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, S-22100 Lund, Sweden

Yining Huang

Centre for Chemical Physics and Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 3K7

Shuman Liu

Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China

Reine Wallenberg and Jan-Olov Bovin

Department of Inorganic Chemistry 2, Chemical Centre, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, S-22100, Lund, Sweden

Lars Samuelson

Department of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, S-22100 Lund, Sweden

^*Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed. Present address: Nomadics, Inc., 1730 Cimarron Plaza, P. O. Box 2496, Stillwater, OK 74076. Electronic address: wchen@nomadics.com

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Vol. 61, Iss. 16 — 15 April 2000

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