Enhanced growth of Y3al5O12:Ce3+ nanocrystals in mesoporous SiO2 utilizing vacuum-assisted impregnation

Abstract

YAG:Ce nanocrystals were successfully formed within silica matrix via impregnation of a YAG:Ce precursor solution in mesoporous silica, followed by sintering. In this study, vacuum-assisted impregnation was applied to increase the size of YAG:Ce nanocrystals in a silica matrix. The size of the YAG:Ce nanocrystals stabilized in the silica matrix via impregnation under atmospheric pressure was 18 nm. By applying vacuum-assisted impregnation, the size of the nanocrystals increased to 31 nm. The photoluminescence spectra of the obtained silica-YAG:Ce composites revealed that there was an approximate three-fold increase in the intensity of emission when vacuum-assisted impregnation was applied. The internal quantum efficiency also increased from 13.6% to 32.2%.