Amine salts assisted controllable synthesis of the YVO4:Eu3+ nanocrystallines and their luminescence properties

The Eu³⁺ doped YVO₄ nanocrystallines with various morphologies were successfully synthesized by an amines (TETA, ETA and EDA) assisted hydrothermal process. By rationally adjusting the adding amount of TETA, ETA and EDA, the trepang-like, globular-like and pineapple-like Eu³⁺ doped YVO₄ nanostructures can be conventionally obtained. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD patterns indicate that these samples are all of the tetragonal structure. The SEM and TEM results show that the amines additives play an important role in morphology formation. Furthermore, the fluorescence properties of those samples are also systematically studied. Under the excitation of 280 nm, Eu³⁺ doped YVO₄: nanostructures emit strong red fluorescence due to the transitions of ⁵D₁-⁷F₁ and ⁵D₀-⁷F_J (J = 1, 2, 3 and 4) of Eu³⁺ ions. The intensity of red fluorescence is related to not only the concentrations of Eu³⁺, but also the types of adding amines. The effective luminescence lifetimes of the trepang-like Y_0.9Eu_0.1VO₄ nanocrystallines, the globular-lik and pineapple-like Y_0.95Eu_0.05VO₄ nanocrystallines are 0.91 ms, 1.02 ms and 1.14 ms, respectively. It is believed that this study is beneficial to promote the development of color display industry.