Photo-acoustic properties of nanoTiO2:Er

Nanocrystalline Er-doped TiO2 was prepared by sol-gel at room temperature. X-ray diffraction, photoacoustic spectroscopy (optical absorption), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electron dispersion microscopy (EDS) were carried out on both as-prepared and thermally-annealed (air at 700 oC) samples, revealing the anatase crystalline phase of TiO2. The samples exhibit an average grain size from 38 to 5.1 nm, as the nominal concentration of Er varies from 0 % to 7 %. The photoacoustic spectra evidence the absorption edge at 300 nm attributed to TiO2, as well as several electronic transitions which are atomic energy absorption-line levels characteristics of Er.