Abstract
Lithium fluoride (LiF) produced in single crystals and doped with proper activators is a highly sensitive phosphor used in several applications such as integrated optics, colour centre laser and radiation dosimetry. In this work, we have developed a new synthetic chemical co-precipitation route for the synthesis of well-crystallized micro- and nanocrystalline cubes of pure and silver (Ag)-doped LiF. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, absorption spectrum, photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. Size of the produced cubes could be controlled in the range 10 mu m-50 nm by varying the solvent : co-solvent ratio. Micro-sized cubes could be grown in the presence of water as a solvent, while ethanol, which acts as a co-solvent, is found to be effective in reducing the size to the nanoscale. XRD results show complete crystalline structures in a griceite phase. The PL result of pure nanocubes exhibits a broad band in the range 370-550 nm, while that doped with Ag shows a prominent band at 420 nm. Raman spectra of the pure and Ag-doped LiF samples display several bands located in the range 80-236 cm(-1). These results show that pure nanocubes of LiF have active colour centres without irradiation, which could be enhanced/modified by Ag dopants. This implies that these nanocubes might be useful in the development of optical devices.