Bright blue photoluminescence from a mixed tin and manganese oxide xerogel prepared via sol–hydrothermal–gel process

A new blue photoluminescent material, a mixed tin and manganese oxide xerogel, is prepared via sol-hydrothermal-gel process assisted by citric acid. The composition xerogel exhibits strong blue emission at room temperature, with an emission maximum at 434 nm under short (234 nm) or long-wavelength (343 nm) ultraviolet excitation. The photoluminescent excitation spectrum of the mixed tin and manganese oxide xerogel, monitored at an intensity maximum wavelength of 434 nm of the emission, consists of two excitation peaks at 234 nm and 343 nm. With heat treatment temperature increasing from 110 ℃ to 200 ℃, the blue emission intensity increases remarkably, whereas it is almost completely quenched after being treated at 300 ℃. The carbon impurities in the mixed tin and manganese oxide xerogel, confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, should be responsible for the bright blue photoluminescence.