Luminescent properties of ZnO sol and film doped with Tb3+ ion

In this paper, ZnO sol and nanosized film were prepared at low temperature, and effect of Tb3+ doping on the luminescent properties was investigated. ZnO sol and film show yellow emission with peak at about 533 nm under excitation of UV light. If Tb3+ is doped in ZnO sol and film, energy transfer from ZnO to Tb3+ ion takes place, and the emission of Tb3+ can be obviously detected. Energy diagram was schematically drawn to illustrate the luminescent mechanism of ZnO:Tb.