Self‐reduction of Eu ³⁺ to Eu ²⁺ in europium‐doped Li ₂ B ₄ O ₇ glass prepared in air

Abstract

Abstract Motivated by the detection of neutrons, europium‐doped Li 2 B 4 O 7 glasses enriched with both lithium and boron elements with high cross‐section capture were developed. A highly effective method of realizing the self‐reduction of Eu 3+ to Eu 2+ ions in europium‐doped Li 2 B 4 O 7 glasses prepared by high temperature melt‐quenching technology in air was revealed. The self‐reduction of Eu 3+ to Eu 2+ ions can be easily achieved by the partial replacement of B 2 O 3 with BN within 2 mol% concentration. And the effect of partially replacing B 2 O 3 with BN on the optical properties of europium‐doped Li 2 B 4 O 7 glass are systematically studied by transmittance, photoluminescence, and radioluminescence spectra, together with the luminescence decay curves.