Laser-induced luminescence of barite after thermal treatment

The photoluminescence (PL) of barite is a noncharacteristic property and cannot be used for the investigation of its structure. After thermal treatment of barite at 600°C several luminescent centers were observed, providing information about different impurities. UO ₂ ²⁺ was determined from the vibrational structure and the long decay time of the luminescence band. Two different types of uranyl were detected, thin films of uranyl mineral (most probably, reserfordin) and a solid solution of uranyl ion in barite crystal. Characteristic green luminescence of UO ₂ ²⁺ may be used as indicative feature for the prospecting of uranium deposits and for the sorting of barite ores with the aim of cleaning from harmful U impurities. Eu²⁺ was determined from the spectral position, the half-width and the characteristic decay time of the luminescence band. Mn²⁺ and Ag⁺ were determined by comparing luminescence bands spectral parameters to those of synthesized BaSO₄-Mn and BaSO₄-Ag. Fe³⁺ or Mn⁴⁺ were determined from the spectral-kinetic parameters of the luminescence bands.