Characterizations of Cr3+- doped SnO2 Powders Via a Hydrolysis Method

In this work, the effect of annealing temperature and Cr3+ concentration on the structural and optical properties of the SnO2 host crystals has been investigated. The Cr-doped SnO2 samples were synthesized by a simple hydrolysis method, using SnCl4.5H2O as the host precursor and CrCl3.6H2O as the source of dopant. X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering spectra analysis revealed a tetragonal rutile structure of Cr3+-doped SnO2 samples. The Cr3+ concentration and annealing temperature have no influence on the lattice parameters of the SnO2 crystals, whereas affected the appearance and intensity of the Raman modes. The optical properties of the synthesized samples were explored by photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) analysis. Interestingly, besides the emission peaks related to the SnO2, emission transitions within Cr3+ ions in the octahedral field of SnO2 were observed.