Cerium luminescence in borate glass and effect of aluminium on blue green emission of cerium ions

CeO2 doped lead borate (CE) and lead alumino borate (CEA) glasses are prepared by melt quench method at high temperature. The main luminescence band of 5d–4f transition of Ce3+ ions with maxima at around 489 nm of Ce3+ ions in these glasses has been observed, along with red shift and larger stokes shift, which shows that the covalency of the rare earth to oxygen bond increases with the increase in CeO2 content at the expense of Al2O3. Shifting of UV absorption edge towards longer wavelength and a decrease in band gap with increase in CeO2 concentration in both the glass systems has been observed. Moreover densification and stabilization of glass network has been observed which is due to conversion of BO3 units to more compact and stable BO4 units. This covalency effect and the formation of BO4 groups with addition of CeO2 and incorporation of Al2O3 content are responsible for clear effect on luminescence of the present glass system. Moreover the optical basicity values were theoretically determined along with density and molar volume. -- Highlights: • Aluminium incorporation assists in dispersing the clusters of cerium ions and thus enhancing luminescence response. • Decrease of optical band gap energy with an increase of cerium concentration shows the semiconducting behavior. • Larger stokes shift shows that the covalency of rare earth to oxygen bond increases with increase in CeO2