Preparation and characterization and photoluminescence properties of CeF₃@ZnS nanocomposites

In the present work, new nanocomposites of CeF₃@ZnS with various weight ratios (1:1, 1:3, 1:5 and 1:7) were synthesized by wet chemistry method and characterized by using XRD, SEM, EDX, and TEM techniques. The optical spectra of the prepared nanocomposites were measured at room temperature and analyzed here for the first time. The obtained results showed an enhancement in energy transfer rate from CeF₃ to ZnS nanoparticles due to large overlapping of CeF₃ emission and ZnS absorption spectra. The presence of ZnS nanoparticles around CeF₃ nanoparticle as core–shell structure lead to shift a defect state originated from emission peak at 480 nm in pure ZnS nanoparticles. Effect of ZnS nanoparticle amount, in photoluminescence properties of CeF₃@ZnS nanocomposite, was investigated and obtained results are presented and discussed.