Structural and luminescent properties of Er3+ and Tb3+-doped sol–gel-based bioactive glass powders and electrospun nanofibers

Deliormanlı A.M.; Rahman B.; Oguzlar S.; Ertekin K.

Structural and luminescent properties of Er3+ and Tb3+-doped sol–gel-based bioactive glass powders and electrospun nanofibers

Date

2021

Authors

Publisher

Springer

Abstract

In this study, sol–gel-based erbium (Er3+), terbium (Tb3+) and Er3+: Tb3 co-doped 1393 bioactive glass powders and electrospun nanofibers were prepared. Structural and morphological properties of the bioactive glasses as well as the photoluminescence characteristics were investigated in detail. The median particle size and average diameter of the prepared glass powders and fibers were in the range of ~ 1.5–3.5 μm and 280–660 nm, respectively. The steady-state photoluminescence and decay kinetics of the samples were investigated under excitation (374 nm) where only Er3+ and Tb3+ ions close to Si nanoclusters can be excited. All the samples prepared in the study exhibited bright green emission upon excitation at 374 nm. Results showed that the dopant concentration and the sample morphology have significant influence on the photoluminescence and decay properties of the glasses. Sol–gel-derived bioactive glass particles exhibited stronger emission intensity, whereas electrospun nanofibers showed extended decay times. In vitro bioactivity experiments revealed that Er3+ and Tb3+ doping did not inhibit the conversion of the glass samples to hydroxyapatite treated in simulated body fluid for 30 days. It was concluded that Er3+ and Tb3+-containing 1393 bioactive glasses have a potential to be used in tissue engineering applications as well as bioimaging studies. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.