Preparation of europium (III) doped nanocrystalline zinc oxide in ionic liquid via an ultrasonic irradiation

In this work, europium (III) doped zinc oxide nanoparitcles have been successfully prepared in room temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BmimPF₆) via an ultrasonic irradiation. The doped nanocrystalline sample has been characterized by XRD and TEM techniques. A possible mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of Eu³⁺ doped ZnO nanomateirals. Additionally, the characteristic emissions of Eu³⁺ can be found upon excitation in the region of ZnO absorption, indicating that an efficient energy transfer from ZnO to Eu³⁺ occurs for the doped sample.