Investigation of optical properties and chemical structure of Nd2O3 nanoparticles deposited on NaX zeolite powder using plasma focus device

Investigation of optical properties and chemical structure of Nd2O3 nanoparticles deposited on NaX zeolite powder using plasma focus device | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Investigation of optical properties and chemical structure of Nd2O3 nanoparticles deposited on NaX zeolite powder using plasma focus device Mir Mohammad Reza Seyedhabashi, Hesham Hosseinpour, Ehsanollah Noori This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2946288/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 Dec, 2023 Read the published version in Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials → Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In this study, nanoparticles of neodymium oxide were deposited on NaX zeolite powder using a 5.3 kJ Mather‒type plasma focus device. The NaX zeolite samples were exposed to the 10, 15, and 20 shot numbers of the plasma focus device at a distance of 14 cm from the anode tip and 0 angular positions with respect to the anode axis. Parent NaX zeolite and NaX:Nd composites with different Nd 2 O 3 percent weights were characterized using different techniques such as; XRF, XRD, SEM, FT‒IR, and UV‒vis. It was shown that the amount of Nd 2 O 3 in the samples increases with increase of the shot number. It was also found from the results that variations in amount of Nd 2 O 3 can have significant effects on the degree of the crystallinity and optical properties of final products such as refractive index, band gap energy, dielectric constant, and absorption coefficients. Plasma focus device Neodymium oxide Nanoparticles Deposition Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 1. Introduction Neodymium is an exclusive element that can be employed as a luminescent center in the laser systems because of the four-level energy structure which is desirable for laser transitions[ 1 ]. Extensive studies have been conducted with the applications of neodymium in photonic devices [ 2 , 3 ]. The 4f N electronic level structures of these ions provide many long-lived intermediate levels which can be populated using infrared radiation. In addition, there are some metastable higher lying levels resulting in visible strong emissions. The rare-earth oxide \({\text{N}}{{\text{d}}_{\text{2}}}{{\text{O}}_{\text{3}}}\) has been attracted much attention because of its high band gap (5.8 eV), high dielectric constant (10–15), favorable lattice matching, and proper thermodynamic stability in conditions of contact with silicon substrates. For these reasons, several studies have been focused on neodymium doped materials and their possible applications in related telecommunication and laser facilities such as optical amplifiers and solid state lasers [ 4 – 8 ]. So far, various methods such as chemical approaches, physical thin film techniques, pulsed laser deposition (PLD), radio frequency (RF) sputtering, and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have been proposed to deposit nanoparticles on different substrate materials [ 9 ]. Recently, because of several advantages in comparison with the mentioned techniques, application of plasma focus (PF) device in deposition of nanoparticle has been developed greatly. The merits of using plasma focus device over the other methods include low gas consumption, elimination of the need for additional heating of the specimen, very short time compared with DC pulse or RF glow discharge, and convenience and ease of device maintenance under pressure conditions [ 10 ]. Zeolites are crystalline aluminosilicates constructed from SiO 4 and AlO 4 tetrahedra which are joined to each other by sharing all of the oxygen atoms. Zeolites have wide range of applications, such as catalysis, ion exchange, and separation [ 11 , 12 ]. In recent years, possible applications of zeolites as host substances for luminescent guest species has been investigated and corresponding results have verified zeolites and related structures as promising new classification of luminophores [ 13 ]. Although PF device has been widely used for the deposition of nanoparticles on various substrates, thorough and detailed studies of nanoparticles deposition on powdery substrates has not been carried out yet. The main concern of the present study is to investigate the effect of PF device shot numbers on the Nd 2 O 3 nanoparticle deposited on NaX zeolite powder. To do this, the effect of the shot number on the optical properties and chemical structure of the prepared NaX/Nd2O3 composite was studied in detail. The organization of the paper is as follows: In Sec. 2 experimental methodology, including introduction of the materials which are used in the experiments, zeolite synthesis, preparation of the Nd 2 O 3 composite, and characterization of the samples are explained. Sec. 3 is devoted to the results and discussion of the XRD, XRF, XT-IR and SEM analysis of the samples, and conclusion is made in Sec. 4. 2. Experimental Methodology 2.1. Materials All materials were utilized as received with no any further purification. The silicon source that utilized in zeolite synthesis was sodium silicate (Na 2 SiO 3 ‒ 9H 2 O > 98%, Sigma ‒ Aldrich), and the aluminum source was sodium aluminate (54.3% Al 2 O 3 , 44.5% Na 2 O, Riedel‒de ‒ Haen), pellets of sodium hydroxide were also used as the sodium source (99%, Sigma ‒ Aldrich). 2.2. NaX zeolite Synthesis In summary, synthesis process of NaX zeolite is as follows: first, 4.2 gr of Al(OH) 3 is dissolved in 8.4 mL of NaOH aqueous solution (50% w/v), then 8.5 mL of 100 ◦ C water is added. Later on, 15.1 gr of NaOH is poured into the mixture, once more, 60 mL water is added and is heated at 50 ◦ C and therefore, the Solution No. 1 is obtained. In the next step, 45.2 gr of Na 2 SiO 3 is dissolved in the mixture of 250 mL water and 15.2 gr NaOH to obtain the solution No. 2. In the next step, the solutions 1&2 are mixed quickly and the resulting solution is heated at 70 ◦ C by an oven. At the last step, the resulting white powder which is used as parent NaX sample, is washed with water and dried at 80 ◦ C [ 14 ]. 2.3. Preparation of NaX: Nd 2 O 3 composite In order to investigate the optical properties of Nd nanoparticles deposited on the zeolite powder, 10, 15 and 20 focused shots of a Mather- type plasma focus (MTPF) device are used. The detailed description about construction and operation of PF device can be found extensively in literature [ 15 – 20 ].The MTPF device of present study, as is shown schematically in Fig. 1 , has 5.3 kJ energy and is powered by a 12µF, 30kV fast discharging energy storage capacitor. A sharp spike in the current signal which is displayed on the screen of a digital storage oscilloscope is an indication of appropriate focusing condition. The anode of the MTPF device is designed as a hollow removable cylinder and hence, the neodymium plate of 99.99% purity can be fitted to the anode. The chamber of plasma is evacuated and filled with air to a pressure of 1.2 mbar. The substrate, on which the nanoparticle is to be deposited, is placed under electrode assemblies and is inserted through the bottom of the focus chamber. 2.4. Characterization To characterize the samples, different techniques including: X-ray diffraction (XRD) (Bruker, D8ADVANCE) with Co‒kα radiation, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) (Bruker, S4 PIONEER), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (TESCAN, VEGA II) are considered. The infrared transmission spectrum (FT‒IR) is also recorded by an FTIR spectrometer system 2000 FT‒IR (Perkin‒Elmer) using the KBr wafer method. 3. Results and Discussion 3.1. XRD analysis The XRD patterns for the synthetic NaX zeolite powder and NaX:Nd composite with various Nd 2 O 3 nanoparticle concentrations are shown in Fig. 2. In the case of NaX zeolite, the characteristic peaks at the 2θ values of 6.93, 11.44, 13.45, 17.79, 21.28, 23.22, 27.01, 30.94, 35.23, 36.01, 37.25 and 39.15 ◦ correspond to the Miller indices (h k l) of (1 1 1), (2 2 0), (3 1 1), (3 3 1), (5 1 1), (4 4 0), (5 3 3), (6 4 2), (6 6 0), (5 5 5), and (6 6 4), respectively. The aforementioned results are in good agreement with those of the face-centered cubic crystal structures of NaX zeolite (molecular formula: C 5 H 4 O 2 .Na 2 O. Al 2 O 3 3.3SiO 2.7H 2 O) (Pdf No.41‒118) with the lattice parameter of a = 24.96000 (A ° ) and 1.92 (g/cm 3 ) measured density. It is clear from the figure that the zeolite structure is remained well maintained after the shots. By following a standard procedure which is described in Ref. [ 21 ], the zeolite crystallinity is estimated from the ratio of the sums of the intensities of the peaks of (1 1 1), (2 2 0), (3 1 1), (3 3 1), (5 1 1), (4 4 0), (5 3 3), (6 4 2), (6 6 0), (5 5 5), and (6 6 4) pertaining to the NaX:Nd composite to those of the reference material (pure zeolites). A slight decrease in crystallinity is found as the shot number of the PF device increases. The founding results are sammarized in Table 1 and can be compared with the pure zeolite crystallinity given in Fig. 2. Table 1 The values of the crystallinity for the samples Sample Peaks Intensity Crystallinity (%) NaX 324.45 100 NaX:Nd1 263.51 81.2 NaX:Nd4 236.79 72.9 NaX:Nd5 233.75 72.0 3.2. XRF studies Table 2 describes the constituent elements of the NaX zeolite composition which are determined by XRF analysis of the samples. The essential parameter that determines the capability of zeolites as an efficient absorbent material is Si/Al ratio which is approximately 1.78 for prepared NaX zeolite. Table 2 Elemental analysis of NaX zeolite powder Compound Si Al Na Cl Ca S Fe Cu Ba K Sr Zn *LOI Total Concentration (%W/W) 41.55 23.40 11.60 6.10 5.38 0.375 0.159 0.117 0.110 0.092 0.65 0.32 12.42 101.4 *Loss on Ignition (1000°C, 2 h) The original oxides are determined by XRF analysis after 10, 15 and 20 shots of the MTPF device and are summarized in Table 3 . Table 3 The values of XRF analysis of NaX:Nd composite powder Samples Compound NaX NaX:Nd1 NaX:Nd4 NaX:Nd5 SiO 2 45.3 44.5 44.1 43.6 Al 2 O 3 34.4 34.7 33.9 33.1 Na 2 O 15.9 16.6 15.7 15.5 Nd 2 O 3 0.06 0.7 1.6 3.1 Concentration (Wt. %) As it is understood from the XRF analysis, by increasing the shot number of the MTPF device, the amount of Nd 2 O 3 also increases from 0.06–3.1%. The effect of increasing shot numbers is shown in Fig. 3 The concentration of the rare‒earth ions provides an insight into the atomic arrangements, and it is one of the most important parameters as it affects the laser gain of the host material and the physical properties. The physical parameters such as the concentration of neodymium ions (N) can be calculated from the average molecular weight, density, and the concentration of the rare‒earth ions and are expressed in the following form [ 22 ]. N (ion/cm 3 ) = \(\frac{\left(\% mol of Nd2O3\right)\times \left(Avogadr{o}^{{\prime }}s number\right) \times \left(zeolite density\right)}{\left(zeolite average molecular weight\right)}\) (1) The calculated concentrations of neodymium ions are given in Table 4 . Table 4 The values of neodymium ion concentration for given samples Sample NaX NaX:Nd1 NaX:Nd4 NaX:Nd5 Wt. (%) 0.06 0.7 1.6 3.1 Mole (%) 0.013 0.157 0.360 0.695 N(ion/cm 3 )×10 20 1.655 4.328 9.92 19.159 3.3 FT-IR studies Nd 2 O 3 particle, NaX pure zeolite, and NaX:Nd composite considering various Nd 2 O 3 nanoparticle concentrations are characterized by FT‒IR. The corresponding results of the FT-IR analysis are shown in Fig. 4. The FTIR spectrum of the synthesized Nd 2 O 3 confirms that the fundamental mode of fluctuations below 500 cm − 1 is due to the Nd‒O stretching modes. The band at 1148 cm − 1 indicates the saccharide structure at 851.9. The relevant peaks at 1364 and 1471 cm − 1 are associated with the asymmetric stretching of the carboxyl group (C = O). The significant absorption peak of the samples at 3436 cm − 1 is mainly because of O‒H stretching [ 23 – 26 ]. Infrared spectra of absorption peaks of NaX zeolite at the range of 400–1200 cm − 1 , are related to the Si‒O‒Al, Si‒O‒Si, Al‒O and Si‒O‒Na bands. The absorption peak at 462 cm − 1 can be ascribed to the internal fluctuations of (Si, Al)O 4 tetrahedral of zeolite X. The peaks at 569 and 755 cm − 1 are attributed to the fluctuations of external bonds between tetrahedral, and sensitivity of the framework structure. The band which is concerned with 671 cm − 1 , is because of symmetric stretching of the internal fluctuations of the (Si, Al)‒O. Fluctuations around 978 cm − 1 can be explained in terms of a T‒O stretch involving essential movements which are related to the oxygen atoms. Generally speaking, the bands in the wave number range 2500‒3800 cm − 1 and near 1650 cm − 1 can be assigned to the different types of hydroxyl groups [ 27 , 28 ]. As can be seen from the FT‒IR analysis of the samples (NaX:Nd composite), no characteristic bands of crystalline Nd 2 O 3 phase are found in the spectra which highlights similar results of NaX zeolite powder. This is due to low Nd 2 O 3 content in NaX:Nd composite that causes a lower Nd 2 O 3 fluctuation intensity in the NaX. These findings show that adding Nd 2 O 3 does not has significant effect on the structure of NaX zeolite [ 28 ]. On the other hands, increasing the amount of Nd 2 O 3 content, leads to the intensity reduction of some characteristic bands. 3.4. SEM images analyses Microstructure evolution of the sample is presented in SEM micrographs. One may notice that Nd 2 O 3 is not uniformly distributed throughout the zeolite matrix, leading to the repercussion by which the structure of the clusters becomes irregular. Pure NaX zeolite without any cluster in pores is shown in Fig. 5 . After 10, 15 and 20 shots, Nd 2 O 3 is distributed in the pores and on the surface of zeolite as illustrated in Fig. 5 (b-d) respectively. 3.5. Optical absorption The absorption spectra of samples with respect to the concentration of Nd 2 O 3 are shown in Fig. 6 . It can be understood from the figure that increasing the concentration of Nd 2 O 3 , leads to increase of absorption intensity, considering different shot numbers of the plasma focus device. On the other words, absorption coefficients which are associated with the absorption bands, are dependent on the concentration of the neodymium oxide. The transitions of: 4 I 9/2 ð 4 F 5/2 + 2 H 9/2 , 4 F 7/2 + 4 S 3/2 , 2 G 7/2 + 4 G 5/2 , 2 K 13/2 + 4 G 7/2 + 4 G 9/2 , 4 D 3/2 + 4 I 11/2 + 4 D 5/2 , 4 D 1/2 + 2 L 15/2 between the higher energy and ground states, inside the 4f 3 electronic configuration of the Nd 3+ ions, are observed in the 400‒900 nm region of the spectrum. It is also deduced from the figure that the associated wavelength of each absorption peak is not shifted with respect to the concentration of Nd 3+ ions. Generally speaking, refractive index plays very crucial role in analysis and in-depth study of lasing process of optical materials Therefore, determination of refractive index, as an inter-disciplinary parameter, is essentially important in creating correlation between the theory of electronic structure and amorphous properties of materials. The refractive indexes of the samples can be calculated from the reflection spectra at transition wavelength in the following form [ 29 ] $${n_d}=\frac{{1+\sqrt R }}{{1 - \sqrt R }}$$ 2 Finding the refractive index, the dielectric constant of the samples can be expressed as [ 30 ] $$\varepsilon =n_{d}^{2}$$ 3 Increasing the refractive index leads to increase of the density of materials as well as dielectric constant. The calculated values of the reflection index and dielectric constant of samples are given in Table 5 . Table 5 The values of neodymium ion concentration and the values of optical parameters for samples Sample NaX NaX:Nd1 NaX:Nd4 NaX:Nd5 N (ion/cm 3 )×10 20 1.655 4.328 9.92 19.159 Mean absorption wavelength (λ p ) (for the 4 I 9/2 → 4 F 5/2 transition) 803 803 803 803 Absorption cross-section (for 4 I 9/2 → 4 F 5/2 ) 2.23015 0.83735 0.43752 0.27035 Refractive index (at transition wavelength: 4 I 9/2 → 4 F 5/2 ) 1.26673 1.27237 1.28371 1.29768 Dielectric constant 1.6299 1.6187 1.6478 1.6837 The main reason of increase of the refractive index is strong packing of the rare earth materials. Allowed and forbidden transitions for direct and indirect optical band gaps can be calculated using Davis and Mott as [ 31 , 32 ] $${(\alpha h\nu )^n}=B(h\nu - {E_g})$$ 4 where \(h\nu\) is energy (frequency) of photon and \({E_g}\) stands for optical energy of the band gap and B is introduced as a constant parameter. The exponent n equals to \({\raise0.7ex\hbox{$1$} \!\mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}}\right.\kern-0pt}\!\lower0.7ex\hbox{$2$}}\) & 2 for the forbidden and allowed directed transitions, respectively. The optical energy of the band gap (E g ) for indirect and direct transitions is found by plotting \({(\alpha h\nu )^{{1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}} \right. \kern-0pt} 2}}}\) and \({(\alpha h\nu )^2}\) as functions of photon energy ( hv) (Taucs plot). The plots of Taucs for the samples are shown in Fig. 7 . The respective values of E g can be obtained by extrapolating the straight portion of the plot of \({(\alpha h\nu )^{{1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}} \right. \kern-0pt} 2}}}\) and \({(\alpha h\nu )^2}\) with respect to \(h\nu\) [ 33 , 34 ]. The obtained values for the optical energy of the band gaps are summarized in Tables 6 and 7 . Table 6 The values of direct forbidden transition band gap (eV), n = 1/2 Sample Slope Intercept Band gap (eV) NaX 1.85002 -1.02523 0.55417 NaX:Nd1 1.85003 -1.02527 0.55419 NaX:Nd4 1.8648 -0.95993 0.51476 NaX:Nd5 1.85332 -0.49823 0.26883 Table 7 The values of direct allowed transition band gap (eV), n = 2 Sample Slope Intercept Band gap (eV) NaX 2475.26129 -8264.07586 3.33866 NaX:Nd1 2475.28245 -8264.16707 3.33867 NaX:Nd4 2643.78994 -8805.27552 3.33055 NaX:Nd5 3097.26122 -10117.16635 3.26648 Evidently, the optical energy of the band gaps decreases with the increase in the concentration of neodymium ions. Such decrease in the energy of the band gap can be related to the progressive increase in the concentration of NBOs [ 35 ]. 4. Conclusion Neodymium and nanoclusters deposited on NaX zeolite powder were prepared by a novel sputtering method employing a Mather-type plasma focus device. The substrate was situated in 0 angular positions with respect to the anode axis, and was exposed to 10, 15 and 20 shots of the plasma focus device. Effects of shot number of the plasma focus device on the optical characteristics and structural properties of the deposited nanoclusters were investigated using XRD, XRF and SEM analysis, as well as FT‒IR and absorption spectra of the samples. The XRD results revealed that the crystallinity of the sample constantly decreases with the increase of the shot number from 10 to 20. The XRF analysis was considered to study the effect of shot number on the enhancement of the Nd 2 O 3 values. It was found from the FT‒IR spectra of NaX:Nd composite samples that the content of Nd 2 O 3 at NaX:Nd composite was low which consequently, caused a lower intensity fluctuation of the Nd 2 O 3 in comparison with the NaX. According to the results, the content of Nd 2 O 3 does not have any significant effect on the structural properties of the NaX zeolite. It was also found that the intensity of some characteristic peaks decreased with increasing the amount of Nd 2 O 3 content. Microstructure evolution of the sample was observed in SEM analysis and showed irregular distribution in the pores and on the surface of the zeolite. Moreover, the increases of the refractive index and decrease in the energy of the band gap, revealed inversely proportionality to the concentration of neodymium ions. Our investigation opens up a new route in the area of dependency of the different properties of nanoclusters on the shot number of the plasma focus device. In all experiments, the zeolite powder was placed at a constant distance from the tip of the anode (140 mm). If the current work is to be extended and studied further, the authors will certainly confirm the impact of the distance of the film from the tip of the anode. Declarations Data availability statement: Data will be made available on reasonable request Author contribution statement: All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Mir Mohammad Reza Seyedhabashi, Hesham Hosseinpour, and Ehsanollah Noori. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Mir Mohammad Reza Seyedhabashi and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. References W. Que, Y. Zhou, Y. Lam, C. Kam, J. Zhou, K. Pita, Y. Chan, S. Buddhudu, L. Gan, G. Deen, Photoluminescence characteristics of neodymium oxide nanocrystal/titania/ormosil composite sol-gel thin films, Applied Physics A 73 (2001) 485-488. K. Gatterer, G. Pucker, W. Jantscher, H.P. Fritzer, S. Arafa, Suitability of Nd(III) absorption spectroscopy to probe the structure of glasses from the ternary system Na2O–B2O3–SiO2, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 231 (1998) 189-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3093(98)00375-5. M. Das, K. Annapurna, P. Kundu, R.N. Dwivedi, S. Buddhudu, Optical spectra of Nd3+:CaO–La2O3–B2O3 glasses, Materials Letters 60 (2006) 222-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2005.08.022. J. Wang, L. Reekie, W.S. Brocklesby, Y.T. Chow, D.N. Payne, Fabrication, spectroscopy and laser performance of Nd3+-doped lead-silicate glass fibers, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 180 (1995) 207-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3093(94)00474-9. R. Gerhardt, J. Kleine-Börger, L. Beilschmidt, M. Frommeyer, H. Dötsch, B. Gather, Efficient channel-waveguide laser in Nd:GGG at 1.062 μm wavelength, Applied Physics Letters 75 (1999) 1210-1212. 10.1063/1.124644. M. Naftaly, A. Jha, Nd3+-doped fluoroaluminate glasses for a 1.3 μm amplifier, Journal of Applied Physics 87 (2000) 2098-2104. 10.1063/1.372145. X. Zhang, F. Lahoz, C. Serrano, G. Lacoste, E. Daran, 1.3-/spl mu/m emission of Nd:LaF/sub 3/ thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics 36 (2000) 243-247. 10.1109/3.823471. Q.J. Zhang, P. Wang, X.F. Sun, Y. Zhai, P. Dai, B. Yang, M. Hai, J.P. Xie, Amplified spontaneous emission of an Nd3+-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) optical fiber at ambient temperature, Applied Physics Letters 72 (1998) 407-409. 10.1063/1.120772. J. Hu, P. Lin, High-coercivity CoPt alloy films grown by sputtering, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics 32 (1996) 4096-4098. 10.1109/20.539310. M. Hassan, PLASMA PROCESSING OF MATERIALS USING PLASMA FOCUS, 2007. S.C. Larsen, Nanocrystalline Zeolites and Zeolite Structures: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 111 (2007) 18464-18474. 10.1021/jp074980m. L. Tosheva, V.P. Valtchev, Nanozeolites: Synthesis, Crystallization Mechanism, and Applications, Chemistry of Materials 17 (2005) 2494-2513. 10.1021/cm047908z. U. Kynast, V. Weiler, Efficient luminescence from zeolites, Advanced Materials 6 (1994) 937-941. doi:10.1002/adma.19940061207. M.R. Abdi, H.R. Shakur, K. Rezaee Ebrahim Saraee, M. Sadeghi, Effective removal of uranium ions from drinking water using CuO/X zeolite based nanocomposites: effects of nano concentration and cation exchange, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 300 (2014) 1217-1225. 10.1007/s10967-014-3092-3. M. mohammadreza Seyedhabashi, M.A. Tafreshi, S. Shafiei, A. Abdisaray, Damage study of irradiated tungsten and copper using proton and argon ions of a plasma focus device, Applied Radiation and Isotopes 154 (2019) 108875. M. mohammadreza Seyyedhabashy, M.A. Tafreshi, S. Shafiei, A. Nasiri, Damage studies on irradiated tungsten by helium ions in a plasma focus device, Nuclear Engineering and Technology 52 (2020) 827-834. M.A. Asgarian, M.M.R. Seyedhabashi, B.S. Bidabadi, C. Rasouli, F. Sedighi, Radiation damage of tungsten surface irradiated with high-energy hydrogen and helium beams of plasma focus device, Fusion Engineering and Design 160 (2020) 112007. M. Seyedhabashi, S. Shafiei, M. Tafreshi, B.S. Bidabadi, Study of surface damage and hydrogen distribution in irradiated tungsten by protons in plasma focus device, Vacuum 175 (2020) 109249. F. Sedighi, A. Kouhi, D. Iraji, C. Rasouli, B.S. Bidabadi, M.M. Seyedhabashi, H. Rasouli, Damage study and comparison the effects of high-energy pulsed-protons of plasma focus device with low-energy protons of glow discharge plasma of tokamak, Plasma Research Express 2 (2020) 035001. M.M.R. Seyedhabashi, M.A. Asgarian, C. Rasouli, F. Sedighi, Radiation Damage of Graphite Surface, Used in First-Wall and Divertor of Tokamaks, Irradiated by Hydrogen and Argon in Plasma Focus Device, IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science 50 (2022) 1814-1822. A.P. Carvalho, M. Brotas de Carvalho, J. Pires, Degree of crystallinity of dealuminated offretites determined by X-ray diffraction and by a new method based on nitrogen adsorption, Zeolites 19 (1997) 382-386. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0144-2449(97)00101-2. A. Rajiv, M.S. Reddy, J. Uchil, C.N. Reddy, THERMAL AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF SODIUM-PHOSPHO - ZINC - NEODYMIUM OXIDE GLASS SYSTEM, Journal of Advanced Scientific Research 5 (2014) 32-39. B. Khodadadi, Preparation, Characterization and investigation of Photocatalytic Properties of Co, Nd-codoped TiO 2 Nanocomposites, Applied Chemistry, Qom, 2013. H. Lin, S.C.R. Gui, K. Imakita, M. Fujii, Enhanced near infrared emission from the partially vitrified Nd3+ and silver co-doped zeolite Y, Journal of Applied Physics 115 (2014) 033507. 10.1063/1.4862232. M. Mohammadian-Kohol, M.N. Nasrabadi, A.H. Navarchian, I. Jabbari, M.R. Seyedhabashi, A study of the effects of gamma irradiation on the structural and mechanical properties of polyvinyl butyral film, Radiation Physics and Chemistry 152 (2018) 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2018.07.014. H.R. Shakur, K. Rezaee, M. Abdi, G. azimi, Selective removal of uranium ions from contaminated waters using modified-X nanozeolite, 2016. O. Debieu, D. Bréard, A. Podhorodecki, G. Zatryb, J. Misiewicz, C. Labbe, J. Cardin, F. Gourbilleau, Effect of annealing and Nd concentration on the photoluminescence of Nd3+ ions coupled with silicon nanoparticles, Journal of Applied Physics 108 (2010) 113114 113111-113118. 10.1063/1.3510521. H.R. Shakur, K. Rezaee Ebrahim Saraee, M.R. Abdi, G. Azimi, Influence of monovalent cations and CuO nanoparticles on X-nanozeolite in uranium anionic species separation from contaminated drinking water, Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 25 (2017) 782-792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjche.2016.11.012. H.M. Pathan, J.D. Desai, C.D. Lokhande, Modified chemical deposition and physico-chemical properties of copper sulphide (Cu2S) thin films, Applied Surface Science 202 (2002) 47-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0169-4332(02)00843-7. T.J. Alwan, Refractive index dispersion and optical properties of dye doped polystyrene films, Malaysian Polymer Journal 5 (2010) 204-213. N.F. Mott, E.A. Davis, Electronic Processes in Non-Crystalline Materials, OxfordUniv1971. M. Mohammadian-Kohol, M. Asgari, H.R. Shakur, Effect of gamma irradiation on the structural, mechanical and optical properties of polytetrafluoroethylene sheet, Radiation Physics and Chemistry 145 (2018) 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2017.12.007. R.P. Sreekanth Chakradhar, K.P. Ramesh, J.L. Rao, J. Ramakrishna, Mixed alkali effect in borate glasses—EPR and optical absorption studies in xNa2O–(30−x)K2O–70B2O3 glasses doped with Mn2+, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 64 (2003) 641-650. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3697(02)00365-7. M. Mohammadian-Kohol, M. Asgari, H.R. Shakur, A detailed investigation of the gamma-ray radiation effects on the optical properties of polyvinyl butyral film, Optik - International Journal for Light and Electron Optics 127 (2016) 7459–7468. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2016.05.076. B. Bendow, P.K. Banerjee, J. Lucas, G. Fonteneau, M.G. Drexhage, Polarized Raman Scattering in Rare-Earth Fluoride Glasses, Journal of the American Ceramic Society 68 (1985) C‐92-C‐95. doi:10.1111/j.1151-2916.1985.tb15303.x. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 Dec, 2023 Read the published version in Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major revision 28 May, 2023 Reviews received at journal 20 May, 2023 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 May, 2023 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 May, 2023 Reviewers invited by journal 18 May, 2023 Editor assigned by journal 18 May, 2023 Submission checks completed at journal 18 May, 2023 First submitted to journal 17 May, 2023 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-2946288","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":201620704,"identity":"ced40fac-3dc5-47db-8024-ad9d84c483f1","order_by":0,"name":"Mir Mohammad Reza Seyedhabashi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPAC5gQGCSDJwGAD5DA2HiBFSxpISwNJWg6DuXi16DawP3zMU2Gdxz+7+fHnwrbzdmvbDwNtqbGJxqXF7ACPsTHPmfRiiTvHzKRntt1O3nYmEajlWFpuA24tbNK8bYcTG24kmDHzArWYHQBqYWw4jEcL+/PfvP8OJ86/kf75M2/buWSz8w8JaWEAGt5wOHHDjRwDoHUH7MxuELLlMI+x5Jxj6Ykb75wpk+Y5l5xgdgNoSwI+vxxvf/jhTY114rzb7Zs/85TZ2ZudT3/44EONDU4toLhg4oFxGNkYEsEqE3Aphyn8AWf+YbAnoHgUjIJRMApGIAAAtStnryWTPjIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI)","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mir","middleName":"Mohammad Reza","lastName":"Seyedhabashi","suffix":""},{"id":201620705,"identity":"61ccb552-7713-46df-b06a-2a4e3347c4f8","order_by":1,"name":"Hesham Hosseinpour","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Isfahan","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hesham","middleName":"","lastName":"Hosseinpour","suffix":""},{"id":201620707,"identity":"c24a29f3-347d-43cf-b431-ee067cb09524","order_by":2,"name":"Ehsanollah Noori","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI)","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ehsanollah","middleName":"","lastName":"Noori","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-05-17 08:14:27","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2946288/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2946288/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-023-02825-3","type":"published","date":"2023-12-08T15:00:45+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":37347844,"identity":"3ef42688-49f1-4a3b-8a50-651c8a56d4c9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-22 22:15:04","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":250306,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe schematic of the PF device and setup of \u0026nbsp;the experiment\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2946288/v1/ae7257d5e2893a05a15e479a.png"},{"id":37348837,"identity":"14335e38-91ae-4808-954a-d9c9ac173c8e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-22 22:23:04","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":68681,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eXRD pattern of synthesized NaX:Nd composite\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2946288/v1/21143a1eaa4b92987615ce61.png"},{"id":37347847,"identity":"fdc9696c-6e51-4791-b06d-a87a7a4a9483","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-22 22:15:04","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":34910,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe effect of PF shot numbers on the Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e value\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2946288/v1/f8a8d346187fbaee029d4f92.png"},{"id":37347843,"identity":"2a3e11a8-7222-4dbc-a411-5d362bbe8ac2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-22 22:15:04","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":56775,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eFT-IR spectra of ZnO nanoparticle, NaX Nanozeolite, and ZnO/NaX nanocomposite with various ZnO nanoparticle concentrations.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2946288/v1/600b14f16d55a8d4884b9020.png"},{"id":37347846,"identity":"3c4a3183-1dfa-43e4-88fd-7649c3529279","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-22 22:15:04","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":674348,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSEM micrograph of NaX Pure Zeolite (a), NaX:Nd1 (b), NaX:Nd4 (c), and NaX:Nd5\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2946288/v1/8b432aa4f2e7e2ebccbaded3.png"},{"id":37347842,"identity":"7f95a79d-babd-4e17-b7bc-06281031fed2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-22 22:15:04","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":71383,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eUV-vis absorption spectra of synthesized NaX:Nd composite\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2946288/v1/84f164c8e4d182c037136eb8.png"},{"id":37347845,"identity":"00efd070-92e1-40c5-8244-cee84eb9619d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-22 22:15:04","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":278431,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSee image above for figure legend.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2946288/v1/8477ec286a45f72246e4d7a3.png"},{"id":47988829,"identity":"a10786be-4c73-4a07-a66e-aa5a9a0f2c90","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-12-11 15:06:03","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1747282,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2946288/v1/aea08f12-32b3-4158-8668-ffd5654f78b6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Investigation of optical properties and chemical structure of Nd2O3 nanoparticles deposited on NaX zeolite powder using plasma focus device","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eNeodymium is an exclusive element that can be employed as a luminescent center in the laser systems because of the four-level energy structure which is desirable for laser transitions[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. Extensive studies have been conducted with the applications of neodymium in photonic devices [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. The 4f\u003csup\u003eN\u003c/sup\u003e electronic level structures of these ions provide many long-lived intermediate levels which can be populated using infrared radiation. In addition, there are some metastable higher lying levels resulting in visible strong emissions. The rare-earth oxide \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\({\\text{N}}{{\\text{d}}_{\\text{2}}}{{\\text{O}}_{\\text{3}}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003ehas been attracted much attention because of its high band gap (5.8 eV), high dielectric constant (10\u0026ndash;15), favorable lattice matching, and proper thermodynamic stability in conditions of contact with silicon substrates. For these reasons, several studies have been focused on neodymium doped materials and their possible applications in related telecommunication and laser facilities such as optical amplifiers and solid state lasers [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR5 CR6 CR7\" citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSo far, various methods such as chemical approaches, physical thin film techniques, pulsed laser deposition (PLD), radio frequency (RF) sputtering, and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have been proposed to deposit nanoparticles on different substrate materials [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. Recently, because of several advantages in comparison with the mentioned techniques, application of plasma focus (PF) device in deposition of nanoparticle has been developed greatly. The merits of using plasma focus device over the other methods include low gas consumption, elimination of the need for additional heating of the specimen, very short time compared with DC pulse or RF glow discharge, and convenience and ease of device maintenance under pressure conditions [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eZeolites are crystalline aluminosilicates constructed from SiO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e and AlO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e tetrahedra which are joined to each other by sharing all of the oxygen atoms. Zeolites have wide range of applications, such as catalysis, ion exchange, and separation [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. In recent years, possible applications of zeolites as host substances for luminescent guest species has been investigated and corresponding results have verified zeolites and related structures as promising new classification of luminophores [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Although PF device has been widely used for the deposition of nanoparticles on various substrates, thorough and detailed studies of nanoparticles deposition on powdery substrates has not been carried out yet. The main concern of the present study is to investigate the effect of PF device shot numbers on the Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e nanoparticle deposited on NaX zeolite powder. To do this, the effect of the shot number on the optical properties and chemical structure of the prepared NaX/Nd2O3 composite was studied in detail. The organization of the paper is as follows: In Sec. 2 experimental methodology, including introduction of the materials which are used in the experiments, zeolite synthesis, preparation of the Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e composite, and characterization of the samples are explained. Sec. 3 is devoted to the results and discussion of the XRD, XRF, XT-IR and SEM analysis of the samples, and conclusion is made in Sec. 4.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Experimental Methodology","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1. Materials\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll materials were utilized as received with no any further purification. The silicon source that utilized in zeolite synthesis was sodium silicate (Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e ‒ 9H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;98%, Sigma ‒ Aldrich), and the aluminum source was sodium aluminate (54.3% Al\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, 44.5% Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO, Riedel‒de ‒ Haen), pellets of sodium hydroxide were also used as the sodium source (99%, Sigma ‒ Aldrich).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2. NaX zeolite Synthesis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn summary, synthesis process of NaX zeolite is as follows: first, 4.2 gr of Al(OH)\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e is dissolved in 8.4 mL of NaOH aqueous solution (50% w/v), then 8.5 mL of 100 \u003csup\u003e◦\u003c/sup\u003eC water is added. Later on, 15.1 gr of NaOH is poured into the mixture, once more, 60 mL water is added and is heated at 50 \u003csup\u003e◦\u003c/sup\u003eC and therefore, the Solution No. 1 is obtained. In the next step, 45.2 gr of Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e is dissolved in the mixture of 250 mL water and 15.2 gr NaOH to obtain the solution No. 2. In the next step, the solutions 1\u0026amp;2 are mixed quickly and the resulting solution is heated at 70 \u003csup\u003e◦\u003c/sup\u003eC by an oven. At the last step, the resulting white powder which is used as parent NaX sample, is washed with water and dried at 80 \u003csup\u003e◦\u003c/sup\u003eC [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3. Preparation of NaX: Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e composite\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn order to investigate the optical properties of Nd nanoparticles deposited on the zeolite powder, 10, 15 and 20 focused shots of a Mather- type plasma focus (MTPF) device are used. The detailed description about construction and operation of PF device can be found extensively in literature [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR16 CR17 CR18 CR19\" citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e].The MTPF device of present study, as is shown schematically in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, has 5.3 kJ energy and is powered by a 12\u0026micro;F, 30kV fast discharging energy storage capacitor.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA sharp spike in the current signal which is displayed on the screen of a digital storage oscilloscope is an indication of appropriate focusing condition. The anode of the MTPF device is designed as a hollow removable cylinder and hence, the neodymium plate of 99.99% purity can be fitted to the anode. The chamber of plasma is evacuated and filled with air to a pressure of 1.2 mbar. The substrate, on which the nanoparticle is to be deposited, is placed under electrode assemblies and is inserted through the bottom of the focus chamber.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.4. Characterization\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo characterize the samples, different techniques including: X-ray diffraction (XRD) (Bruker, D8ADVANCE) with Co‒kα radiation, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) (Bruker, S4 PIONEER), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (TESCAN, VEGA II) are considered. The infrared transmission spectrum (FT‒IR) is also recorded by an FTIR spectrometer system 2000 FT‒IR (Perkin‒Elmer) using the KBr wafer method.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Results and Discussion","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.1. XRD analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe XRD patterns for the synthetic NaX zeolite powder and NaX:Nd composite with various Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e nanoparticle concentrations are shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;2.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIn the case of NaX zeolite, the characteristic peaks at the 2\u0026theta; values of 6.93, 11.44, 13.45, 17.79, 21.28, 23.22, 27.01, 30.94, 35.23, 36.01, 37.25 and 39.15\u003csup\u003e◦\u003c/sup\u003e correspond to the Miller indices (h k l) of (1 1 1), (2 2 0), (3 1 1), (3 3 1), (5 1 1), (4 4 0), (5 3 3), (6 4 2), (6 6 0), (5 5 5), and (6 6 4), respectively. The aforementioned results are in good agreement with those of the face-centered cubic crystal structures of NaX zeolite (molecular formula: C\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003eH\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e .Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO. Al\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e 3.3SiO 2.7H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO) (Pdf No.41‒118) with the lattice parameter of a\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;24.96000 (A\u003csup\u003e\u0026deg;\u003c/sup\u003e) and 1.92 (g/cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e) measured density. It is clear from the figure that the zeolite structure is remained well maintained after the shots. By following a standard procedure which is described in Ref. [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e], the zeolite crystallinity is estimated from the ratio of the sums of the intensities of the peaks of (1 1 1), (2 2 0), (3 1 1), (3 3 1), (5 1 1), (4 4 0), (5 3 3), (6 4 2), (6 6 0), (5 5 5), and (6 6 4) pertaining to the NaX:Nd composite to those of the reference material (pure zeolites). A slight decrease in crystallinity is found as the shot number of the PF device increases. The founding results are sammarized in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and can be compared with the pure zeolite crystallinity given in Fig.\u0026nbsp;2.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe values of the crystallinity for the samples\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSample\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePeaks Intensity\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCrystallinity (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e324.45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e263.51\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e81.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e236.79\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e72.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e233.75\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e72.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.2. XRF studies\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e describes the constituent elements of the NaX zeolite composition which are determined by XRF analysis of the samples. The essential parameter that determines the capability of zeolites as an efficient absorbent material is Si/Al ratio which is approximately 1.78 for prepared NaX zeolite.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eElemental analysis of NaX zeolite powder\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCompound\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSi\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAl\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNa\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCl\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCa\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFe\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCu\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBa\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eK\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSr\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eZn\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e*LOI\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eConcentration (%W/W)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e41.55\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e23.40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.38\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.375\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.159\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.117\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.110\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.092\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.65\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e101.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"15\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e*Loss on Ignition (1000\u0026deg;C, 2 h)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe original oxides are determined by XRF analysis after 10, 15 and 20 shots of the MTPF device and are summarized in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe values of XRF analysis of NaX:Nd composite powder\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth colspan=\"4\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSamples\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCompound\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e45.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e44.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e44.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e43.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e34.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e34.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e33.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e33.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNa\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"4\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eConcentration\u0026nbsp;(Wt. %)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAs it is understood from the XRF analysis, by increasing the shot number of the MTPF device, the amount of Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e also increases from 0.06\u0026ndash;3.1%. The effect of increasing shot numbers is shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe concentration of the rare‒earth ions provides an insight into the atomic arrangements, and it is one of the most important parameters as it affects the laser gain of the host material and the physical properties. The physical parameters such as the concentration of neodymium ions (N) can be calculated from the average molecular weight, density, and the concentration of the rare‒earth ions and are expressed in the following form [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN\u003c/strong\u003e (ion/cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e) \u003cstrong\u003e=\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\frac{\\left(\\% mol of Nd2O3\\right)\\times \\left(Avogadr{o}^{{\\prime }}s number\\right) \\times \\left(zeolite density\\right)}{\\left(zeolite average molecular weight\\right)}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe calculated concentrations of neodymium ions are given in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe values of neodymium ion concentration for given samples\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSample\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWt. (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMole (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.013\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.157\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.360\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.695\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN(ion/cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e)\u0026times;10\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.655\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.328\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.92\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e19.159\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.3 FT-IR studies\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e particle, NaX pure zeolite, and NaX:Nd composite considering various Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e nanoparticle concentrations are characterized by FT‒IR. The corresponding results of the FT-IR analysis are shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;4.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe FTIR spectrum of the synthesized Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e confirms that the fundamental mode of fluctuations below 500 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e is due to the Nd‒O stretching modes. The band at 1148 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e indicates the saccharide structure at 851.9. The relevant peaks at 1364 and 1471 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e are associated with the asymmetric stretching of the carboxyl group (C\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;O). The significant absorption peak of the samples at 3436 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e is mainly because of O‒H stretching [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eInfrared spectra of absorption peaks of NaX zeolite at the range of 400\u0026ndash;1200 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e, are related to the Si‒O‒Al, Si‒O‒Si, Al‒O and Si‒O‒Na bands. The absorption peak at 462 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e can be ascribed to the internal fluctuations of (Si, Al)O\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e tetrahedral of zeolite X. The peaks at 569 and 755 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e are attributed to the fluctuations of external bonds between tetrahedral, and sensitivity of the framework structure. The band which is concerned with 671 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e, is because of symmetric stretching of the internal fluctuations of the (Si, Al)‒O. Fluctuations around 978 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e can be explained in terms of a T‒O stretch involving essential movements which are related to the oxygen atoms. Generally speaking, the bands in the wave number range 2500‒3800 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e and near 1650 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e can be assigned to the different types of hydroxyl groups [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAs can be seen from the FT‒IR analysis of the samples (NaX:Nd composite), no characteristic bands of crystalline Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e phase are found in the spectra which highlights similar results of NaX zeolite powder. This is due to low Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content in NaX:Nd composite that causes a lower Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e fluctuation intensity in the NaX. These findings show that adding Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e does not has significant effect on the structure of NaX zeolite [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e]. On the other hands, increasing the amount of Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content, leads to the intensity reduction of some characteristic bands.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.4. SEM images analyses\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMicrostructure evolution of the sample is presented in SEM micrographs. One may notice that Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e is not uniformly distributed throughout the zeolite matrix, leading to the repercussion by which the structure of the clusters becomes irregular. Pure NaX zeolite without any cluster in pores is shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAfter 10, 15 and 20 shots, Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e is distributed in the pores and on the surface of zeolite as illustrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e (b-d) respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.5. Optical absorption\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe absorption spectra of samples with respect to the concentration of Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e are shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIt can be understood from the figure that increasing the concentration of Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, leads to increase of absorption intensity, considering different shot numbers of the plasma focus device. On the other words, absorption coefficients which are associated with the absorption bands, are dependent on the concentration of the neodymium oxide. The transitions of: \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eI\u003csub\u003e9/2\u003c/sub\u003e \u0026eth; \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eF\u003csub\u003e5/2\u003c/sub\u003e + \u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eH\u003csub\u003e9/2\u003c/sub\u003e, \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eF\u003csub\u003e7/2\u003c/sub\u003e + \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eS\u003csub\u003e3/2\u003c/sub\u003e, \u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eG\u003csub\u003e7/2\u003c/sub\u003e + \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eG\u003csub\u003e5/2\u003c/sub\u003e, \u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eK\u003csub\u003e13/2\u003c/sub\u003e + \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eG\u003csub\u003e7/2\u003c/sub\u003e + \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eG\u003csub\u003e9/2\u003c/sub\u003e, \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eD\u003csub\u003e3/2\u003c/sub\u003e + \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eI\u003csub\u003e11/2\u003c/sub\u003e + \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eD\u003csub\u003e5/2\u003c/sub\u003e, \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eD\u003csub\u003e1/2\u003c/sub\u003e + \u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eL\u003csub\u003e15/2\u003c/sub\u003e between the higher energy and ground states, inside the 4f\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e electronic configuration of the Nd\u003csup\u003e3+\u003c/sup\u003e ions, are observed in the 400‒900 nm region of the spectrum. It is also deduced from the figure that the associated wavelength of each absorption peak is not shifted with respect to the concentration of Nd\u003csup\u003e3+\u003c/sup\u003e ions.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGenerally speaking, refractive index plays very crucial role in analysis and in-depth study of lasing process of optical materials\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTherefore, determination of refractive index, as an inter-disciplinary parameter, is essentially important in creating correlation between the theory of electronic structure and amorphous properties of materials. The refractive indexes of the samples can be calculated from the reflection spectra at transition wavelength in the following form [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Equ1\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"FileID_Equ1\" class=\"mathdisplay\"\u003e$${n_d}=\\frac{{1+\\sqrt R }}{{1 - \\sqrt R }}$$\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFinding the refractive index, the dielectric constant of the samples can be expressed as [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Equ2\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"FileID_Equ2\" class=\"mathdisplay\"\u003e$$\\varepsilon =n_{d}^{2}$$\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e3\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIncreasing the refractive index leads to increase of the density of materials as well as dielectric constant. The calculated values of the reflection index and dielectric constant of samples are given in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe values of neodymium ion concentration and the values of optical parameters for samples\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSample\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN (ion/cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e)\u0026times;10\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.655\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.328\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.92\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e19.159\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMean absorption wavelength (\u0026lambda;\u003csub\u003ep\u003c/sub\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(for the \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eI\u003csub\u003e9/2\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026rarr; \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eF\u003csub\u003e5/2\u003c/sub\u003e transition)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e803\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e803\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e803\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e803\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAbsorption cross-section\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(for \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eI\u003csub\u003e9/2\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026rarr; \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eF\u003csub\u003e5/2\u003c/sub\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.23015\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.83735\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.43752\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.27035\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRefractive index\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(at transition wavelength: \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eI\u003csub\u003e9/2\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026rarr; \u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eF\u003csub\u003e5/2\u003c/sub\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.26673\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.27237\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.28371\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.29768\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDielectric constant\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6299\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6187\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6478\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.6837\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe main reason of increase of the refractive index is strong packing of the rare earth materials. Allowed and forbidden transitions for direct and indirect optical band gaps can be calculated using Davis and Mott as [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Equ3\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"FileID_Equ3\" class=\"mathdisplay\"\u003e$${(\\alpha h\\nu )^n}=B(h\\nu - {E_g})$$\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e4\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ewhere \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(h\\nu\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e is energy (frequency) of photon and \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\({E_g}\\)\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003estands for optical energy of the band gap and \u003cem\u003eB\u003c/em\u003e is introduced as a constant parameter. The exponent \u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e equals to \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\({\\raise0.7ex\\hbox{$1$} \\!\\mathord{\\left/ {\\vphantom {1 2}}\\right.\\kern-0pt}\\!\\lower0.7ex\\hbox{$2$}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u0026amp; 2 for the forbidden and allowed directed transitions, respectively. The optical energy of the band gap (E\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e) for indirect and direct transitions is found by plotting \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\({(\\alpha h\\nu )^{{1 \\mathord{\\left/ {\\vphantom {1 2}} \\right. \\kern-0pt} 2}}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\({(\\alpha h\\nu )^2}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e as functions of photon energy (\u003cem\u003ehv)\u003c/em\u003e (Taucs plot). The plots of Taucs for the samples are shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe respective values of \u003cem\u003eE\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003eg\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e can be obtained by extrapolating the straight portion of the plot of \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\({(\\alpha h\\nu )^{{1 \\mathord{\\left/ {\\vphantom {1 2}} \\right. \\kern-0pt} 2}}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003eand \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\({(\\alpha h\\nu )^2}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003ewith respect to \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(h\\nu\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]. The obtained values for the optical energy of the band gaps are summarized in Tables\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe values of direct forbidden transition band gap (eV), n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1/2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSample\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSlope\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBand gap (eV)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.85002\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-1.02523\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.55417\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.85003\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-1.02527\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.55419\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.8648\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.95993\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.51476\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.85332\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.49823\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.26883\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab7\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 7\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe values of direct allowed transition band gap (eV), n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSample\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSlope\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIntercept\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBand gap (eV)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2475.26129\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-8264.07586\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33866\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2475.28245\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-8264.16707\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33867\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2643.78994\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-8805.27552\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.33055\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNaX:Nd5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3097.26122\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-10117.16635\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.26648\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEvidently, the optical energy of the band gaps decreases with the increase in the concentration of neodymium ions. Such decrease in the energy of the band gap can be related to the progressive increase in the concentration of NBOs [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eNeodymium and nanoclusters deposited on NaX zeolite powder were prepared by a novel sputtering method employing a Mather-type plasma focus device. The substrate was situated in 0 angular positions with respect to the anode axis, and was exposed to 10, 15 and 20 shots of the plasma focus device. Effects of shot number of the plasma focus device on the optical characteristics and structural properties of the deposited nanoclusters were investigated using XRD, XRF and SEM analysis, as well as FT‒IR and absorption spectra of the samples.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe XRD results revealed that the crystallinity of the sample constantly decreases with the increase of the shot number from 10 to 20. The XRF analysis was considered to study the effect of shot number on the enhancement of the Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e values.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt was found from the FT‒IR spectra of NaX:Nd composite samples that the content of Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e at NaX:Nd composite was low which consequently, caused a lower intensity fluctuation of the Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e in comparison with the NaX. According to the results, the content of Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e does not have any significant effect on the structural properties of the NaX zeolite. It was also found that the intensity of some characteristic peaks decreased with increasing the amount of Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e content. Microstructure evolution of the sample was observed in SEM analysis and showed irregular distribution in the pores and on the surface of the zeolite. Moreover, the increases of the refractive index and decrease in the energy of the band gap, revealed inversely proportionality to the concentration of neodymium ions. Our investigation opens up a new route in the area of dependency of the different properties of nanoclusters on the shot number of the plasma focus device. In all experiments, the zeolite powder was placed at a constant distance from the tip of the anode (140 mm). If the current work is to be extended and studied further, the authors will certainly confirm the impact of the distance of the film from the tip of the anode.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability statement:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData will be made available on reasonable request\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor contribution statement:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Mir Mohammad Reza Seyedhabashi, Hesham Hosseinpour, and Ehsanollah Noori. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Mir Mohammad Reza Seyedhabashi and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eW. Que, Y. Zhou, Y. Lam, C. Kam, J. Zhou, K. Pita, Y. Chan, S. Buddhudu, L. Gan, G. Deen, Photoluminescence characteristics of neodymium oxide nanocrystal/titania/ormosil composite sol-gel thin films, Applied Physics A 73 (2001) 485-488.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eK. Gatterer, G. Pucker, W. Jantscher, H.P. Fritzer, S. Arafa, Suitability of Nd(III) absorption spectroscopy to probe the structure of glasses from the ternary system Na2O\u0026ndash;B2O3\u0026ndash;SiO2, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 231 (1998) 189-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3093(98)00375-5.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM. Das, K. Annapurna, P. Kundu, R.N. Dwivedi, S. Buddhudu, Optical spectra of Nd3+:CaO\u0026ndash;La2O3\u0026ndash;B2O3 glasses, Materials Letters 60 (2006) 222-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2005.08.022.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJ. Wang, L. Reekie, W.S. Brocklesby, Y.T. Chow, D.N. Payne, Fabrication, spectroscopy and laser performance of Nd3+-doped lead-silicate glass fibers, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 180 (1995) 207-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3093(94)00474-9.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eR. Gerhardt, J. Kleine-B\u0026ouml;rger, L. Beilschmidt, M. Frommeyer, H. D\u0026ouml;tsch, B. Gather, Efficient channel-waveguide laser in Nd:GGG at 1.062 \u0026mu;m wavelength, Applied Physics Letters 75 (1999) 1210-1212. 10.1063/1.124644.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM. Naftaly, A. Jha, Nd3+-doped fluoroaluminate glasses for a 1.3 \u0026mu;m amplifier, Journal of Applied Physics 87 (2000) 2098-2104. 10.1063/1.372145.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eX. Zhang, F. Lahoz, C. Serrano, G. Lacoste, E. Daran, 1.3-/spl mu/m emission of Nd:LaF/sub 3/ thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics 36 (2000) 243-247. 10.1109/3.823471.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQ.J. Zhang, P. Wang, X.F. Sun, Y. Zhai, P. Dai, B. Yang, M. Hai, J.P. Xie, Amplified spontaneous emission of an Nd3+-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) optical fiber at ambient temperature, Applied Physics Letters 72 (1998) 407-409. 10.1063/1.120772.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJ. Hu, P. Lin, High-coercivity CoPt alloy films grown by sputtering, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics 32 (1996) 4096-4098. 10.1109/20.539310.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM. Hassan, PLASMA PROCESSING OF MATERIALS USING PLASMA FOCUS, 2007.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eS.C. Larsen, Nanocrystalline Zeolites and Zeolite Structures:\u0026thinsp; Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 111 (2007) 18464-18474. 10.1021/jp074980m.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eL. Tosheva, V.P. Valtchev, Nanozeolites:\u0026thinsp; Synthesis, Crystallization Mechanism, and Applications, Chemistry of Materials 17 (2005) 2494-2513. 10.1021/cm047908z.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eU. Kynast, V. Weiler, Efficient luminescence from zeolites, Advanced Materials 6 (1994) 937-941. doi:10.1002/adma.19940061207.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM.R. Abdi, H.R. Shakur, K. Rezaee Ebrahim Saraee, M. Sadeghi, Effective removal of uranium ions from drinking water using CuO/X zeolite based nanocomposites: effects of nano concentration and cation exchange, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 300 (2014) 1217-1225. 10.1007/s10967-014-3092-3.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM. mohammadreza Seyedhabashi, M.A. Tafreshi, S. Shafiei, A. Abdisaray, Damage study of irradiated tungsten and copper using proton and argon ions of a plasma focus device, Applied Radiation and Isotopes 154 (2019) 108875.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM. mohammadreza Seyyedhabashy, M.A. Tafreshi, S. Shafiei, A. Nasiri, Damage studies on irradiated tungsten by helium ions in a plasma focus device, Nuclear Engineering and Technology 52 (2020) 827-834.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM.A. Asgarian, M.M.R. Seyedhabashi, B.S. Bidabadi, C. Rasouli, F. Sedighi, Radiation damage of tungsten surface irradiated with high-energy hydrogen and helium beams of plasma focus device, Fusion Engineering and Design 160 (2020) 112007.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM. Seyedhabashi, S. Shafiei, M. Tafreshi, B.S. Bidabadi, Study of surface damage and hydrogen distribution in irradiated tungsten by protons in plasma focus device, Vacuum 175 (2020) 109249.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eF. Sedighi, A. Kouhi, D. Iraji, C. Rasouli, B.S. Bidabadi, M.M. Seyedhabashi, H. Rasouli, Damage study and comparison the effects of high-energy pulsed-protons of plasma focus device with low-energy protons of glow discharge plasma of tokamak, Plasma Research Express 2 (2020) 035001.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM.M.R. Seyedhabashi, M.A. Asgarian, C. Rasouli, F. Sedighi, Radiation Damage of Graphite Surface, Used in First-Wall and Divertor of Tokamaks, Irradiated by Hydrogen and Argon in Plasma Focus Device, IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science 50 (2022) 1814-1822.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA.P. Carvalho, M. Brotas de Carvalho, J. Pires, Degree of crystallinity of dealuminated offretites determined by X-ray diffraction and by a new method based on nitrogen adsorption, Zeolites 19 (1997) 382-386. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0144-2449(97)00101-2.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA. Rajiv, M.S. Reddy, J. Uchil, C.N. Reddy, THERMAL AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF SODIUM-PHOSPHO - ZINC - NEODYMIUM OXIDE GLASS SYSTEM, Journal of Advanced Scientific Research 5 (2014) 32-39.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eB. Khodadadi, Preparation, Characterization and investigation of Photocatalytic Properties of Co, Nd-codoped TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eNanocomposites, Applied Chemistry, Qom, 2013.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eH. Lin, S.C.R. Gui, K. Imakita, M. Fujii, Enhanced near infrared emission from the partially vitrified Nd3+ and silver co-doped zeolite Y, Journal of Applied Physics 115 (2014) 033507. 10.1063/1.4862232.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM. Mohammadian-Kohol, M.N. Nasrabadi, A.H. Navarchian, I. Jabbari, M.R. Seyedhabashi, A study of the effects of gamma irradiation on the structural and mechanical properties of polyvinyl butyral film, Radiation Physics and Chemistry 152 (2018) 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2018.07.014.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eH.R. Shakur, K. Rezaee, M. Abdi, G. azimi, Selective removal of uranium ions from contaminated waters using modified-X nanozeolite, 2016.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eO. Debieu, D. Br\u0026eacute;ard, A. Podhorodecki, G. Zatryb, J. Misiewicz, C. Labbe, J. Cardin, F. Gourbilleau, Effect of annealing and Nd concentration on the photoluminescence of Nd3+ ions coupled with silicon nanoparticles, Journal of Applied Physics 108 (2010) 113114 113111-113118. 10.1063/1.3510521.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eH.R. Shakur, K. Rezaee Ebrahim Saraee, M.R. Abdi, G. Azimi, Influence of monovalent cations and CuO nanoparticles on X-nanozeolite in uranium anionic species separation from contaminated drinking water, Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 25 (2017) 782-792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjche.2016.11.012.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eH.M. Pathan, J.D. Desai, C.D. Lokhande, Modified chemical deposition and physico-chemical properties of copper sulphide (Cu2S) thin films, Applied Surface Science 202 (2002) 47-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0169-4332(02)00843-7.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eT.J. Alwan, Refractive index dispersion and optical properties of dye doped polystyrene films, Malaysian Polymer Journal 5 (2010) 204-213.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eN.F. Mott, E.A. Davis, Electronic Processes in Non-Crystalline Materials, OxfordUniv1971.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM. Mohammadian-Kohol, M. Asgari, H.R. Shakur, Effect of gamma irradiation on the structural, mechanical and optical properties of polytetrafluoroethylene sheet, Radiation Physics and Chemistry 145 (2018) 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2017.12.007.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eR.P. Sreekanth Chakradhar, K.P. Ramesh, J.L. Rao, J. Ramakrishna, Mixed alkali effect in borate glasses\u0026mdash;EPR and optical absorption studies in xNa2O\u0026ndash;(30\u0026minus;x)K2O\u0026ndash;70B2O3 glasses doped with Mn2+, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 64 (2003) 641-650. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3697(02)00365-7.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eM. Mohammadian-Kohol, M. Asgari, H.R. Shakur, A detailed investigation of the gamma-ray radiation effects on the optical properties of polyvinyl butyral film, Optik - International Journal for Light and Electron Optics 127 (2016) 7459\u0026ndash;7468. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2016.05.076.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eB. Bendow, P.K. Banerjee, J. Lucas, G. Fonteneau, M.G. Drexhage, Polarized Raman Scattering in Rare-Earth Fluoride Glasses, Journal of the American Ceramic Society 68 (1985) C‐92-C‐95. doi:10.1111/j.1151-2916.1985.tb15303.x.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-inorganic-and-organometallic-polymers-and-materials","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"joip","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials](https://www.springer.com/journal/10904)","snPcode":"10904","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10904/3","title":"Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Plasma focus device, Neodymium oxide, Nanoparticles, Deposition","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2946288/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2946288/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn this study, nanoparticles of neodymium oxide were deposited on NaX zeolite powder using a 5.3 kJ Mather‒type plasma focus device. The NaX zeolite samples were exposed to the 10, 15, and 20 shot numbers of the plasma focus device at a distance of 14 cm from the anode tip and 0 angular positions with respect to the anode axis. Parent NaX zeolite and NaX:Nd composites with different Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e percent weights were characterized using different techniques such as; XRF, XRD, SEM, FT‒IR, and UV‒vis. It was shown that the amount of Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e in the samples increases with increase of the shot number. It was also found from the results that variations in amount of Nd\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3 \u003c/sub\u003ecan have significant effects on the degree of the crystallinity and optical properties of final products such as refractive index, band gap energy, dielectric constant, and absorption coefficients.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Investigation of optical properties and chemical structure of Nd2O3 nanoparticles deposited on NaX zeolite powder using plasma focus device","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2023-05-22 22:14:59","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2946288/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Major revision","date":"2023-05-28T16:55:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2023-05-20T20:25:28+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"30df4afc-0022-4878-a008-975e279ab8c2","date":"2023-05-18T18:11:18+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"1df4d988-b088-4b80-8e1f-25e411fbeaa6_SNPRID","date":"2023-05-18T17:53:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2023-05-18T17:52:17+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2023-05-18T17:44:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2023-05-18T08:37:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials","date":"2023-05-17T08:08:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-inorganic-and-organometallic-polymers-and-materials","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"joip","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials](https://www.springer.com/journal/10904)","snPcode":"10904","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10904/3","title":"Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"085fde57-6da0-4c3f-b735-6c3b60d573f6","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 22nd, 2023","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2023-12-11T15:02:48+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-2946288","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-023-02825-3","journal":{"identity":"journal-of-inorganic-and-organometallic-polymers-and-materials","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials"},"publishedOn":"2023-12-08 15:00:45","publishedOnDateReadable":"December 8th, 2023"},"versionCreatedAt":"2023-05-22 22:14:59","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s10904-023-02825-3","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-023-02825-3","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-2946288","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-2946288","identity":"rs-2946288","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"7rjqhiLT3MXkJMwkYKINL","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}