Key words: aerogel, germanium oxide, doping, praseodymium, co-gelation, luminescence
A straightforward method for creating crystalline GeO2: Pr3+ aerogels is introduced. By adapting an existing epoxide-induced synthesis process, we successfully performed cogelation of GeCl4 and Pr(NO3)3 · 5H2O. It was shown show that the concentration of the dopant ion in the aerogel increases in direct proportion to its initial share in the mixture, with a uniform distribution throughout the material. The dependence of the photoluminescence of GeO2: Pr3+ aerogels on the excitation wavelength is established. At high excitation energies, the luminescence is completely determined by the germanium oxide matrix, while when excited by green light, the characteristic orange-red emission bands of Pr3+ ions become the dominant.
doi:10.34984/SCFTP.2025.20.4.001