Investigation of optical properties of CaZrO3 nanophosphor under UV and X-ray irradiation

In this study, CaZrO3 nanophosphors with perovskite structure were synthesized by self-combustion method with citric acid as fuel at 350 °C and XRD patterns were performed at different temperatures to evaluate the optimum temperature of single-phase and crystalline CaZrO3 samples. The average size of crystals for the apparent peak (121) was estimated to be 44 nm using Scherer formula. The morphology of the samples using FE-SEM and EDXS indicated the nanometer size of the samples and the formation of desired phases in the sample. The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectrum of a sample under the excitation wavelength of 256 nm has a broad band around 435 nm (visible region) in the blue region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The results of thermoluminescence (TL) analysis also showed that the CaZrO3 sample made by this method shows TL properties even in the absence of impurities. Nanophosphors were irradiated with UV light at 254 nm at different times and its radiative peak was quite visible in the thermoluminescence curve at 204 °C. Also, CaZrO3 nanophosphors were irradiated with X-ray at different times and its thermoluminescence curve included a single peak at 209 °C. The linearity, reproducibility and fading of CaZrO3 were investigated under UV and X-ray irradiation.