Strontium ions concentration dependent modifications on structural and optical features of Li4Sr(BO3)3 glass

Abstract

Composition optimization is essential for achieving improved properties of strontium (Sr2+) doped lithium borate (LSBO) glass. Glasses with compositions (85-x)H3BO3+15Li2CO3+xSrCO3, where x = 0.5-2.5 mol% are synthesized via melt quenching technique. Glasses are characterized to determine Sr2+ ions concentration dependent improvements in the structural, physical, and optical properties. XRD patterns verifies the amorphous nature, FESEM images reveals transmitting surface morphology, stable glasses with Hurby parameter ∼0.5 are achieved. FTIR spectra revealed three fundamental peaks around 700.55-930.68 and 1072.07 cm-1, which corresponded to the trigonal and tetrahedral stretching vibrations of BO3 and BO4 units. These peaks are shifted with the increase of modifier concentration. Energy for Urbach tail, direct and indirect optical gaps are calculated. The increasing glass refractive index from 2.34 to 3.00 is ascribed to the conversion of BO4 into BO3 units. Emission spectra exhibit three peaks centered at 492.65, 536 and 549 nm, corresponding to the transitions from the 1D2, 3D3 and 3D2 levels to ground state 1S0 respectively, and accompanied by a slight blueshift attributed to the formation of new complexes. Effects of strontium ion contents on the structural and optical properties are demonstrated. Our observation may contribute towards the development of LSBO based glass photonics.