The Role of Y2O3 and MgO Additives on the Photoluminescence Properties of Si3N4 Nanoparticles

The current research addressed synthesizing and studying photoluminescence studies of β-Si3N4 nanoparticles. The effect of MgO and Y2O3 as the typical additives on photoluminescence behaviour was evaluated. The β-Si3N4 with MgO and Y2O3 additive specimens were fabricated by a solid state technique (ball-milled method). The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction technique, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Raman analysis. The results showed that after ball-milled process, hexagonal β-Si3N4 with MgO or Y2O3 as the additives with the size distribution of 45–50 nm was obtained. The optical properties of the as-synthesized product were also investigated by photoluminescence and diffuse reflection spectroscopy. The obtained results confirmed that employing MgO as an additive, in comparison to the Y2O3, could enhance emission properties in the synthesized silicon nitride nanoparticles. The obtained results also showed that MgO–Si3N4 pair acted as FRET system to enhance the emission intensity of β-Si3N4 nanoparticles.