Synthesis of Yb3+ doped Sr5(PO4)3F nanoparticles through co-precipitation

Abstract 4 at% Yb doped Sr5(PO4)3F (S-FAP) particles have been successfully prepared through a simple and efficient one-step co-precipitation method. The phases and morphologies of the powders were characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM. The experimental results show that the powders containing pure-phase hexagonal Sr5(PO4)3F exhibit an aggregated characteristic with nanocrystal size range of 15–40 nm in diameter and an average size of 30 nm. The in-situ high-temperature XRD analysis demonstrated that the Yb:S-FAP phases are stable up to a temperature of 1400 °C. The optical properties of Yb:S-FAP powders were studied by spectrofluorometery; exhibiting a 1044 nm emission due to the 2F5/2 to 2F7/2 energy transition under a excitation of 980 nm.