Reflux synthesis, formation mechanism, and photoluminescence performance of monodisperse Y2O3:Eu3+ nanospheres

Monodisperse Y2O3:Eu3+ nanospheres have been successfully synthesized by a low-temperature reflux method assisted by cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometer, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that the size of Y2O3:Eu3+ nanospheres can be controlled from 80 to 140 nm with narrow size distribution by adjusting the amount of CTAB. A possible formation mechanism of Y2O3:Eu3+ nanospheres has been proposed. The photoluminescence analysis shows that Y2O3:Eu3+ nanospheres obtained have a strong red emission peak of Eu3+ ions at around 611 nm, due to the 5D0 → 7F2 forced electric dipole transition of Eu3+ ions. It is found that the photoluminescence performance of the obtained Y2O3:Eu3+ nanospheres is stronger than that of the Y2O3:Eu3+ nanorods synthesized by a traditional hydrothermal route.