JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS

In this study, ZnB2O4:xSm(3+) (0.01 H-6(7/2) located at 606 nm can occur as hypersensitive transition having the selection rule Delta J = +/- 1. The observed peaks are in the region of yellow reddish light of Sm3+. Experimental results verify that the optimum Sm3+ content in terms of intense luminescence for this series of phosphors was 2%. Beyond 2% of Sm3+ ions concentration, luminescence quenching occurs due to an enhanced probability of the energy transfer from one Sm3+ to another that matches in energy via cross-relaxation and dipole-dipole interactions according to Dexter theory. A suitable energy transfer model between two adjacent Sm3+ ions in the ZnB2O4 phosphors was accomplished by the electric dipole-dipole interaction. The critical transfer distance (R-c) for non-radiative energy transfer was found to be 21.52 angstrom at 2 mol % Sm3+ doped ZnB2O4. Additionally, thermoluminescence (TL) glow curves of undoped and Sm activated ZnB2O4 under beta irradiation of 10 Gy are also discussed here. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved