Solvothermal synthesis and luminescent properties of highly uniform LuF3:Ln3+ (Ln=Eu, Tb, Dy) nanocrystals from ionic liquids

Abstract High quality lanthanide ions doped LuF 3 have been successfully prepared via the solvothermal method and using 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (OmimPF 6 ) as fluoride source. In this synthesis procedure, ionic liquids (ILs) OmimPF 6 act not only as a reactant but also as a morphology-directing agent. The results indicate that the morphology and size of LuF 3 :Ln 3+ (Ln 3+ = Eu 3+ , Tb 3+ , Dy 3+ ) products can be rationally modified by tuning the synthesis temperature, time and using different kinds of solvents. Moreover, the luminescent properties of the products with different morphologies were systematically studied. The photoluminescence (PL) properties of the as-synthesized samples revealed that Eu 3+ doped LuF 3 nanocrystals with different morphologies present characteristic transition of Eu 3+ , and their emission intensities strongly depend on morphology and size. The effect of Eu 3+ doping concentration on PL intensity was also investigated.