| Abstract
| - Structural and morphological studies were carried out on cerium- and gadolinium-dopedsol−gel silica glasses intended for scintillator applications, to deepen the understanding ofrare earth ion incorporation into the glass matrix. Several compositions, ranging from 0 to5 mol % Ce and from 0 to 8 mol % Gd, were studied by Raman spectroscopy. The vibrationalresponse was compared to that of pure silica glasses: for cerium doping higher than 0.5mol %, the F2g Raman mode, characteristic of CeO2, was observed. The presence of CeO2nanocrystalline clusters, whose size depends on cerium concentration and thermal treatment,was confirmed also by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) patterns and transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM) analyses. On the contrary, gadolinium-doped sol−gel silica glassesexhibited Raman spectra similar to those of pure silica glasses, at least for the investigatedconcentrations up to 8 mol %, and no crystalline particles were detected within the amorphousmatrix.
- New cerium-doped scintillator glasses, recently obtained via sol−gel, were studied, and Ce clustering was disclosed. Nanocrystals of CeO2 were observed through TEM, XRD, and Raman measurements, in the range from 5 to 20 nm. The phenomenology was explored as a function of rare earth concentration and glass thermal treatments.
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