Chen Huanhuan, Ni Yonghong, Ma Xiang, Hong Jianming
College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids of Education Ministry, Anhui Laboratory of Molecule-Based Materials, Anhui Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids, Anhui Normal University, 1 Beijing East Road, Wuhu 241000, PR China.
College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids of Education Ministry, Anhui Laboratory of Molecule-Based Materials, Anhui Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids, Anhui Normal University, 1 Beijing East Road, Wuhu 241000, PR China.
J Colloid Interface Sci. 2014 Aug 15;428:141-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2014.04.043. Epub 2014 May 1.
Rare-earth-doped LaPO4 crystals have been attracting considerable interest. In this work, we reported the fast syntheses of LaPO4 and Eu-doped LaPO4 crystals via a simple oil-bath route, employing La(NO3)3 and KH2PO4 as the original reactants, Eu2O3 as the dopant. The reaction was carried out in ethylene glycol system at 120°C for 30 min without any assistance of surfactants or templates. X-ray powder diffraction analyses showed that pure monoclinic LaPO4 form was obtained in the system without Eu(3+) ions, and the above phase was not changed after integrating Eu(3+) ions into LaPO4 matrix. However, electron microscopy observations discovered that the integration of Eu(3+) ions into LaPO4 matrix obviously changed the morphology and size of the final La(1-x)Eu(x)PO4 crystals. With the increase in Eu(3+) amount from 0 to 0.35, the shape of the final product varied from homogeneous egg-like nanospheroids, to irregular grains with microscales, and to homogeneous microspheroids. Also, the Eu(3+) ion content in La(1-x)Eu(x)PO4 markedly affected the photoluminescence properties of the final product. When x=0.2, the product exhibited the strongest PL emission.
