Synthesis and luminescent properties of Ba3Y3.88Gd0.12O9:Eu3+ phosphors with enhanced red emission

In this work, the Gd³⁺/Eu³⁺ activated Ba₃Y₄O₉ (BYO) phosphors were successfully synthesized via coprecipitation method at 1400 °C. The precursor composition, crystal structure stability, microscopic morphology, photoluminescence (PL)/photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra and fluorescence attenuation analysis of the phosphors are discussed in detail. The chemical composition of the precursor was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetry (TG) analysis; According to field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis, it is found that the particle size of phosphor is uniform and the agglomeration is few. According to PL/PLE spectra analysis, Ba₃Y_3.28Eu_0.6Gd_0.12O₉ phosphors has the strongest excitation band at 260 nm and the strongest emission band at 614 nm, and the fluorescence intensity of Ba₃Y_3.28Eu_0.6Gd_0.12O₉ is higher than that of Ba₃Y_3.4Eu_0.6O₉. The quenching concentration of Eu³⁺ in Ba₃Y_3.88–4xEu_4xGd_0.12O₉ phosphors is x = 0.15 and the mechanism of quenching concentration of Eu³⁺ is electric dipole-quadrupole type interactions. The lifetime value of Ba₃Y_3.88–4xEu_4xGd_0.12O₉ (x = 0.15) phosphors is 0.686 ms and decreases with the increase of Eu³⁺ content. In addition, the CIE chromaticity diagram of Ba₃Y_3.28Eu_0.6Gd_0.12O₉ phosphors is (0.66, 0.34). Finally, the lamp beads assembled with Ba₃Y_3.28Eu_0.6Gd_0.12O₉ phosphors have an ideal luminous effect. Therefore, the Ba₃Y_3.88–4xEu_4xGd_0.12O₉ phosphors designed in this work may hopefully meet the requirements of various lighting and optical display applications.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast and heat treated Mg-15Gd-3Y alloy

The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Mg-15Gd-3Y alloy were investigated in the as-cast and heat treated conditions.The microstructure evolution from as-cast to cast-T4 states involved α-Mg solid solution+Mg5(Gd,Y) phase→α-Mg supersatu-rated solid solution+rare earths compound Mg3(Gd1.26,Y0.74)→α-Mg supersaturated solid solution+rare earths compound Mg3(Gd0.745,Y1.255).It showed that 480 oC/4 h was the optimal solution treatment parameter.If the solution temperature was high or the holding time was long,such as 520 oC/16 h,an overheating phenomenon would be induced,which had a detrimental effect on the mechanical properties.When age-ing at 225 and 200 oC,the alloy would exhibit a significant age-hardening response and great long-time-age-hardening potential,respectively.The best mechanical properties were obtained at the parameters of 480 oC/4 h+225 oC/16 h,with the UTS of 257.0 MPa and elongation of 3.8%.     

Phase precipitation and magnetic properties of melt-spun ternary Gd2Fe14B alloy and advantages of gadolinium substitution in Y2Fe14B alloy

To take the advantage of gadolinium(Gd) in developing and manufacturing RE-permanent magnets,the magnetic properties and phase precipitation behavior of Gd₂Fe₁₄B alloys prepared by melt spinning were investigated in this work.The results show that optimally direct quenched nanocrystalline Gd₂Fe₁₄B alloy exhibits the magnetic properties with remanence J_r of 0.51 T,coercivity H_c of 187 kA/m,and maximum energy product(BH)_max     

Homogenization heat treatment of Mg-7.68Gd-4.88Y-1.32Nd-0.63Al-0.05Zr alloy

The microstructures and mechanical properties of the Mg-7.68Gd-4.88Y-1.32Nd-0.63A1-0.05Zr magnesium alloy were investigated both in the as-cast condition and after homogenization heat treatment from 535 to 555 ℃ in the time range 0-48 h by op- tical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and hardness measurement. The as-cast alloy consisted of ct-Mg matrix, Mgs（Y0.5Gd0.5） phase which is a eutectic phase, strip of Al2（Y0.6Gd0.4） phase, little A13Zr and Mg（Y3Gd） phase. With the increasing of homogenization temperature and time, the Mgs（Y0.5Gd0.5） phase was completely dissolved into the matrix. The Al2（Y0.6Gd0.4） phase was almost not dissolved which impeded grain boundaries motion making the grain size almost not changed in the process of ho- mogenization. The optimum homogenization condition was 545 ℃/16 h. The tensile strength increased, yield strength decreased and the plasticity improved obviously after 545 ℃/16 h homogenization treatment.     

Enhanced afterglow performance of CaAl_2O_4:Eu~(2+),Nd~(3+) phosphors by co-doping Gd~(3+)

In order to effectively improve the afterglow properties of CaAl_2 O_4:Eu~(2+),Nd~(3+) phosphors,a series of Ca_(0.982-x)Al_2 O_4:0.012 Eu~(2+),0.006 Nd~(3+),xGd~(3+)(x=0,0.012,0.024,0.036,0.048,0.060 mol) phosphors were prepared by a high-temperature solid-phase approach.Crystalline composition and microstructure were characterized by XRD,TEM,HRTEM,and XPS,luminescence properties were systematically analyzed by fluorescence spectra,afterglow decay curves and TL glow curve.Results show that all of Ca_(0.982-x)Al_2 O_4:0.012 Eu~(2+),0.006 Nd~(3+),xGd~(3+)phosphors belong to monoclinic CaAl_2 O_4,without other cystalline phase.The blue emission at 442 nm is observed,which is assigned to the 4 f~65 d→4 f~7 transition of Eu~(2+) ions.Doping with appropriate amount of Gd~(3+) ions(x=0.036 mol) significantly improves the afterglow properties of phosphors,but the excessive doping of Gd~(3+) induces the fluorescent quenching.The doping of moderate Gd3+changes the traps states,the trap depth varies from 0.598 to 0.644 eV and the trap concentration is also greatly improved,thus significantly improving afterglow performance.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Zn-Y-Nd-Zr alloys

The microstructure and tensile properties of the as-cast and solution treatment Mg-4.5Zn-1Y-xNd-0.5Zr (x=0, 1 wt.%, 2 wt.%, 3 wt.%) alloys were investigated. The results showed that the microstructure of Mg-4.5Zn-1Y-0.5Zr alloy consisted of α-Mg, Zn-Zr, W (Mg₃Y₂Zn₃) and I (Mg₃YZn₆) phases. With the addition of Nd, I-phase disappeared and Mg₃Y₂Zn₃ phase changed into Mg₃(Nd,Y)₂Zn₃ phase. When the content of Nd reached 3 wt.%, T phase, i.e., ternary Mg-Zn-Nd phase, formed. In addition, with the increase of Nd content in the alloys, the secondary dendritic arm spacing decreased, while the amount of intermetallic phases increased. For as-cast Mg-4.5Zn-1Y-xNd-0.5Zr alloys, after solution treatment, microsegregation was eliminated and the shape of eutectic structure of α-Mg+W transformed from lamellar into spherical. The tensile strength and elongation of Mg-4.5Zn-1Y- 3Nd-0.5Zr alloy were increased from 219.2 MPa and 11.0% to 247.5 MPa and 20.0%, respectively.     

Photoluminescence enhancement of red-emitting GdVO4：Eu and YVO4：Eu phosphors by adding zinc

We synthesized the rare-earth activated R0.94-xEu0.06ZnxVO4 (R: Gd and Y; 0≤x≤0.08) phosphors with a spherical morphology and a smooth surface by the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The annealed R0.94-xEu0.06ZnxVO4 crystallized in the tetragonal zircon type structure, belonging to the space group of I41/amd. The incorporation of a small amount of Zn to R0.94Eu0.06VO4 improved the emission characteristics. The emission intensities of the Gd0.88Eu0.06Zn0.06VO4 and Y0.9Eu0.06Zn0.04VO4 phosphors at 619 nm were 72% and 21% stronger than those of the Gd0.94Eu0.06VO4 and Y0.94Eu0.06VO4 phosphors, respectively. We demonstrated that the addition of Zn to R0.94Eu0.06VO4 was quite effective for improving the photoluminescent properties.     

Crystallographic alignment and magnetic anisotropy in melt-spun Nd-Fe-B/α-Fe composite ribbons with different neodymium contents

Crystallographic alignment and magnetic anisotropy were studied for NdxFe94-xB6 (x=8,9,10,11) ribbons prepared via melt-spinning. Effect of Nd content and wheel speed on the crystal structure and magnetic properties of the ribbons was investigated. Both the free and wheel side of the ribbons could obtain strong c-axis crystal texture of Nd2Fe14B phase perpendicular to the ribbons surface at low wheel speed,but the texture weakened gradually with the increase of the wheel speed. Increase of Nd content led to better formation of crystal texture in the ribbons,indicating that the α-Fe phase might undermine the formation of crystal texture. Magnetic measurement results showed that the magnetic anisotropy of the ribbons exhibited corresponding behavior with the invariance of the c-axis crystal texture of Nd2Fe14B phase in the ribbons,and the coercivity of the ribbons rose with the increase of both Nd content and wheel speed during melt-spun process.     

Evolution of microstructures and optical properties of gadolinium oxide with oxygen flow rate and annealing temperature

In this study, the effects of oxygen flow rate and annealing temperature on Gd_2 O_3 structures and optical properties were systematically analyzed. Gd_2 O_3 films were deposited on both quartz and ZnS substrates by magnetron sputtering and then annealed under vacuum at 700, 800 and 900℃, Restructure and phase transformation from cubic to monoclinic occur at different temperatures depending on the oxygen flow rate. The optical band gap, which is more sensitive to the annealing temperature than oxygen flow rate changes from 5.32 to 5.65 eV. The refractive index is approximately 1.75 at 550 nm and is adjustable by the oxygen flow rate. The transmittance of the ZnS substrate with Gd_2 O_3 film exceeds 80% and reaches82% at the 7.5-9.5 μm range. When ZnS is coated on both sides, the transmittance is increased to approximately 90%. Our results indicate that Gd_2 O_3 films are promising new candidates for anti-reflective coatings in the infrared region.     

Effects of Cooling Rate and Solute Content on the Grain Refinement of Mg-Gd-Y Alloys by Aluminum

The effect of Al additions on grain refinement of Mg-Gd-Y alloys with different solute contents at different cooling rates has been investigated. For all alloys, significant grain refinement was due to the formation of Al₂(Gd _x Y_1?x ) nucleant particles. The number density and size distribution of Al₂(Gd _x Y_1?x ) were affected by both solute content and the cooling rate. Grain sizes (d _gs) of Mg-Gd-Y base alloys and of Mg-Gd-Y-Al alloys were related to solute content (defined by the growth restriction factor, Q), cooling rate ( \( \dot{T} \) ), and area number density (ρ _ns) and size (d _p) of nucleant particles that can be activated. It is found that grain sizes of Mg-Gd-Y base alloys follow the relationship \( d_{\text{gs}} = a + \frac{b}{{Q\sqrt {\dot{T}} }} \) , while grain sizes of Al-refined samples follow the relationship \( d_{\text{gs}} = \frac{a'}{{\sqrt {\rho {}_{\text{ns}}} }} + \frac{b'}{{\sqrt {\dot{T}} Qd_{\text{p}} }} \) , where a, b, a′, and b′ were constants. In addition, the grain refinement effect of Al additions was more susceptible to solute content and the cooling rate than that of Zr which is regarded as the most efficient grain refiner for Mg alloys.     

Effect of Holding Time on Surface Films Formed on Molten AZ91D Alloy Protected by Graphite Powder

Graphite powder was adopted to prevent the AZ91D magnesium alloy from oxidizing during the melting and casting process. The microstructure of the resultant surface films formed at 973 K (700 °C) holding for 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) after mechanical polishing and chemical etching. The results indicated that the surface films were composed of a protective layer and the underneath particles with different morphology. The protective layer was continuous with a thickness of 200 to 1000 nm mainly consisting of MgO, MgF₂, and C, while the underneath particles mainly consisted of MgF₂ and MgAl₂O₄. The surface films were the result of the interaction between the graphite powder, the melt, and the ambient atmosphere. The number and the size of the underneath particles, determining the thickness uniformity of the surface films, and the unevenness of the microsurface morphology increased with holding time. The mechanism of holding time on the resultant surface films was also discussed.     

Er and Gd Co-Doped Ceria-Based Electrolyte Materials for IT-SOFCs Prepared by the Cellulose-Templating Method

Ce_0.9?x Gd_0.1Er _x O_1.9?x/2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) (EGDC) powders were successfully synthesized with a fast and facile cellulose-templating method for the first time and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The samples were calcined at a relatively low calcination temperature of 773 K (500 °C). The sintering behavior of the calcined EGDC powders was also investigated at 1673 K (1400 °C) for 6 hours. Calcined Ce_0.9?x Gd_0.1Er _x O_1.9?x/2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) powders and sintered Ce_0.9?x Gd_0.1Er _x O_1.9?x/2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) pellets crystallized in the cubic fluorite structure. It was found that the relative densities of the sintered EGDC pellets were over 95 pct for all the Er contents studied. Moreover, the effect of Er content on the ionic conductivity of the gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC, Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.90) was investigated. The highest ionic conductivity value was found to be 3.57 × 10^?2 S cm^?1 at 1073 K (800 °C) for the sintered Ce_0.82Gd_0.1Er_0.08O_1.91 at 1673 K (1400 °C) for 6 hours.     

Nucleation and epitaxy growth of high-entropy REBa2Cu3O7-δ(RE=Y,Dy,Gd,Sm,Eu)thin films by metal organic deposition

High-entropy REBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ(RE=Y_0.7+Dy_0.2+Gd_0.2+Sm_0.2+Eu_0.2)(HE-REBCO) superconducting films doped with multiple rare earth elements were successfully fabricated with thickness up to 800 nm by a trifluoroacetate-metal organic deposition(TFA-MOD).The enhanced entropy change ΔS of the HEREBCO system promotes the c-axis growth of REBCO thin film in the competition with a/b-axis growth.The microstructure and elemen...     

Effect of Zn Content on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of MgZnYLaMM Alloys

The effect of Zn content on microstructure, existing phases, and mechanical properties of rapidly solidified MgZn _x Y₁LaMM₁Mn_0.5 alloys (X?=?2, 3, 4 at.?pct) has been investigated. To assess the microstructural characterization of nanocrystalline alloys, the study also includes microstructural characterization of the master alloys. The microstructure of the alloys in as-rapidly solidified condition consisted of supersaturated magnesium dendrites and fine (Mg,Zn)₁₇La₂ and W phase (Mg₃Y₂Zn₃) segregated at grain and cell boundaries. During continuous heating, the metastable solid solution in Mg dendrites breaks down, increasing the volume fraction of second-phase particles. After annealing for 1?hour at 673?K (400?°C), very small spherical Mn-rich precipitates appeared in the three alloys and a long-period stacking ordered (LPS) phase of rectangular morphology precipitated inside the Mg grains in the alloy with the lowest Zn content. The nanocrystalline nature of the ribbons accounts for the high hardness and yield stress values in as-rapidly solidified state, although both decrease with increasing zinc content. This fact has been related to a coarser microstructure and higher volume fraction of the W phase as the Zn content increases. The highest yield stress value of 350?MPa is attained by the MgZn₂Y₁LaMM₁ ribbon in as-rapidly solidified condition. A decrease in yield stress values (about 50?MPa) is observed for all ribbons when they are heated at 673?K (400?°C) for 1?hour.     

Microstructure of amorphous electrodeposited Co-Ni-W films

The phase composition of electrodeposited films of (Co_{100 ? x} -Ni _x )_{100 ? y} W _y alloys (x = 0–100 at % Ni, y = 0–30 at % W), the microstructures of amorphous films of this system on the submicrometer and nanometer scales, and the mechanism of their nucleation and growth are studied. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that, as the tungsten concentration increases, the transition from a crystalline into an amorphous state in the films based on Co-W alloys occurs through a supersaturated hcp solid solution, whereas this transition in the films based on Ni-W alloys occurs through an fcc structure. Heterophase states consisting of a mixture of hcp and fcc structures are observed in the composition range x = 30–80 at % Ni, and, at concentrations higher than 12–14 at % W, an amorphous phase is also observed. A homogeneous amorphous phase forms at a refractory-metal content of 19–20 at % or more. Transmission and scanning electron microscopies show that the amorphous Co-W, Ni-W, and Co-Ni-W films have a network structure. The laws of the variation of the network microstructure with the chemical composition of the amorphous films are established and explained in the framework of the island model of thin film nucleation and growth.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-xY-1.5MM-0.4Zr alloys

Age hardening,microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-xY-1.5MM-0.4Zr (x=0,2,4,6 wt.%) alloys (MM represents Ce-based misch-metal) were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the formed precipitates being responsible for age hardening changed from fine hexagonal-shaped equilibrium Mg12MM phase to metastable β’ phase with bco crystal structure when Y was added into Mg-1.5MM-0.4Zr alloy,and the volume fraction of precipitate phases also increased. With the increase of Y content in Mg-Y-1.5MM-0.4Zr alloys,it was found that the age hardening was enhanced,the grain sizes became finer and the tensile strength was improved. The cubic-shaped β-Mg24Y5 precipitate phases were observed at grain boundaries in Mg-6Y-1.5MM-0.4Zr alloy. It was suggested that the distribution of prismatic shaped β’ phases and cubic shaped β-Mg24Y5 precipitate phases in Mg matrix might account for the remarkable enhancement of tensile strength of Mg-Y-MM-Zr alloy. It was shown that the Mg-6Y-1.5MM-0.4Zr alloy was with maximum tensile strength at aged-peak hardness,UTS of 280 MPa at room temperature and 223 MPa at 250 oC,respectively.     

Solid-State Phase Equilibria of the V-Si-Gd System at 973 K (700 °C)

The solid-state phase equilibria of the V-Si-Gd ternary system at 973 K (700 °C) were experimentally evaluated. The existence of nine binary compounds, namely, V₃Si, V₅Si₃, V₆Si₅, VSi₂, Gd₅Si₃, Gd₅Si₄, GdSi, GdSi_1.67, and GdSi_2?x , was confirmed, and no ternary compound was found at 973 K (700 °C). The homogeneity ranges of V₃Si and GdSi_2?x were investigated. It is worth mentioning that the Gd₃Si₄ compound was discovered through changing the experimental conditions, and its crystal structure was discussed.     

Mechanical properties,thermal conductivity and defect formation energies of samarium immobilization in Gd2Zr2O7:First-principles study and irradiation experiment

A density functional theory(DFT) study was employed to investigate the mechanical property,thermal conductivity,Debye temperature,electronic structure and defect chemistry of(Gd_1-xSm_x)₂Zr₂O₇.All the(Gd_1-xSm_x)₂Zr₂O₇ compounds exhibit an excellent structural and mechanical stability(Gd_0.25Sm_0.75)₂Zr₂O₇ has the lowest Young’s modulus of...     

Tailoring effect of Y2O3 on water resistance of Na2O-ZnO-Al2O3-B2O3 glasses

To explore the improving effect of Y₂O₃ on the water resistance of xY₂O₃-(100-x)(0.05 Al₂O₃-0.15 ZnO-0.15 Na₂O-0.65 B₂O₃)(x=0,0.7 mol%,1.4 mol%,2.1 mol%,2.8 mol%) glasses,glass structure and ion migration characteristics were respectively characterized by an infrared spectrometer and an electrochemical workstation.X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy dispersive Xray spect...