Preparation and elements analysis of porous fluorescent glasses

A large variety of porous fluorescent glasses were prepared and the concentration of different elements in these glasses was analyzed. The start porous glasses were soaked in a solution containing soluble salts and then heated at 650°C for 3 h to decompose the salts in the pores into oxides. Fluorescent agents, such as UO₃, Eu₂O₃, were impregnated into the porous glasses to prepare the fluorescent glasses. The results show that soaking is a feasible method to prepare the glass sphere with compositions distinguishable from each other and easy to be located in a complicated background. Six or more components can be impregnated together into one glass sample and the concentration of them can be analyzed accurately. UO₃ and Eu₂O₃ can be impregnated into porous glass to make the glass strongly fluorescent. Higher concentration of Eu₂O₃ produces stronger fluorescence while higher concentration of UO₃ reduces the fluorescence intensity because of the concentration quenching effect.