Preparation and characterization of luminescent CaAl12O19:Mn materials

• Grant number: 23/17412-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Alexandre Mesquita
• Grantee: Ana Luiza de Abreu Esteves
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas (IGCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The search for ecologically sustainable, inexpensive, accessible and efficient luminescent materials is an important issue for optoelectronic devices. In this sense, the Mn-doped calcium aluminate compound (CaAl12O19:Mn) has received remarkable attention for its fundamental properties, versatility and potential for various technological applications. As the formation of CaAl12O19 through the conventional solid state reaction method is difficult and requires high temperatures, an alternative is the use of the polymer precursor method, which allows the synthesis of oxides with controlled particle size, high purity and chemical homogeneity, besides presenting a relatively low cost and not requiring sophisticated equipment. However, the preparation of CaAl12O19 using this methodology without the formation of secondary phases is not reported in the literature. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies in the literature showing how defects in the lattice, such as symmetry breaking or vacancies, influence the activators and sensitizers. Thus, this project aims to prepare samples of CaAl12O19:Mn by the polymer precursor methods. The final objective is to obtain high quality luminescent crystals, looking for the non-formation of secondary phases in the pure and doped samples. It is intended to directly study the correlation between the morphological (size and shape of the grains) and structural (incorporation of substituent atoms, intrinsic defects, etc.) properties of these systems with their luminescent properties. The structural properties of the samples will also be characterized by conventional techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy.