Structural, physical, and optical characterization of (Nd3+/Eu3+)-doped zinc-rich silica–borate glasses

In this study, zinc–silica–borate glass structures doped with rare earth (RE) oxides Eu2O3 and Nd2O3 were synthesized with classical melting–quenching technique. 60ZnO–10SiO2–(30 – x)B2O3:xRE (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 mol%) composition was chosen as the structure. The doping effect of two different rare earth oxides (individually) at different ratios was investigated according to the structural, physical, and optical properties of the glass structure. Structural properties of the synthesized glasses were determined with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) device, and densities (ρ) and molar volumes (Vm) of the glasses were measured with Archimedes method, and optical properties were determined with UV–Visible (UV–Vis-NIR) device. FTIR results show that BO3 units increased in all RE-doped glasses. While densities of the synthesized glasses varied between 3.755 and 3.941 g cm− 3, indirect bandgaps varied between 3.219 and 3.645 eV. The glass with the highest transmittance was the 1% Eu2O3-doped glass with a transmittance of 84%. While band edges shifted slightly toward short wavelengths in glasses doped with Nd2O3, they shifted to longer wavelengths in glasses doped with Eu2O3.