Control Valence and Luminescence Properties of Cerium Ions in Al2O3-SiO2 Glasses Prepared by Sol–Gel Method

In this study, the synthesis and luminescence properties (LP) of Al₂O₃-SiO₂ glasses doped with different concentrations of Ce³⁺, namely, 0.05 mol.%, 0.1 mol.%, and 0.3 mol.% Ce³⁺, were investigated. The LP of the obtained samples were characterized by ultraviolet–visible absorption (UV–VIS) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The results showed that the valence states of the cerium ions can be controlled by heating the synthesized glasses in hydrogen atmosphere leading to change their LP. The existence of the absorption band at about 295 nm and of a broad band spectrum with a maximum at 250 nm can be attributed to Ce³⁺ ion and the charge transfer band of Ce⁴⁺ ion, respectively. A broad emission at 366 nm observed under excitation of UV light at 310 nm originated from the well-known 4f–5d transition of Ce³⁺ ion. The role of Al³⁺ ions is also considered when glass samples were treated under the hydrogen atmosphere. It is revealed that the presence of aluminum ions enabled controlling the valence states of cerium via the formation of OH bonds that can reduce Ce⁴⁺ to Ce³⁺ ions in glass sample treated in reduced atmosphere. The increasing of PL peaks appeared during the treatment under hydrogen atmosphere at high temperature.