Selective preparation of Ag species on photoluminescence of Sm 3+ in borosilicate glass via Ag + ‐Na + ion exchange

Photoluminescence (PL) of rare earth ion‐doped glasses could be enhanced by diverse Ag species such as Ag + ions, Ag + ‐Ag + pairs, Ag nano‐clusters (NCs), and Ag nanoparticles (NPs). Selective preparation of silver species in rare earth ion‐doped glasses is a crucial step to obtain the luminescence enhancement of rare earth ions caused by the different silver species. In this work, Ag + ions and Ag NCs were selectively prepared in the Sm 3+ ‐doped borosilicate glass via the Ag + ‐Na + ion exchange. The influence of AgNO 3 /NaNO 3 ratio in the molten salt on the Ag existing states was investigated. The results demonstrate that the isolated Ag + ions exist in the Sm 3+ ‐doped borosilicate glass when the ratio of AgNO 3 /NaNO 3 is 1/1000. The Ag NCs are formed in the Sm 3+ ‐doped borosilicate glass when the AgNO 3 /NaNO 3 ratio is 1/10. The influence of Ag + ions or Ag NCs on the PL of Sm 3+ was systematically investigated. The results show that the PL of Sm 3+ was enhanced by the energy transfer from Ag + ions or Ag NCs to Sm 3+ .