Luminescent properties of praseodymium doped Y2O3 and LaAlO3 nanocrystallites and polymer composites

Luminescent properties of Y2O3 and LaAlO3 nanopowders doped with Pr3+ ions and PMMA-based composite materials doped with these powders were reported. The set of active nanopowders differing in praseodymium ions concentration was prepared using sol-gel method and carefully characterized with respect to emission properties in the visible spectral range. In particular, the excitation and emission spectra were measured together with fluorescence decay profiles and the differences between optical properties of these materials were discussed and compared with data available for bulk materials. Finally, the PMMA-based composite materials doped with Pr3+:Y2O3 and Pr3+:LaAlO3 nanopowders were manufactured and characterized. The obtained results showed that polymer composites doped with active nanopowders in general tended to keep the luminescent properties of the original nanopowders.