Tartaric acid-assisted sol-gel synthesis of Y2O3:Eu3+ nanoparticles

In the present work, Y2O3:Eu3+ nanoparticles have been synthesized by tartaric acid-assisted sol-gel method. The advantages of low temperature solution-based process have been exploited to produce Y2O3:Eu3+ nanoparticles. Synthesis conditions such as calcination temperature and tartaric acid concentrations are varied in order to determine the exact optimal conditions for synthesizing nanoparticles with superior optical properties. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies have been carried out to understand surface morphological features and the particle size. Crystal structure of the nanoparticles has been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Nanoparticles have average crystallite size from 20 to 45 nm. The incorporation of Eu3+ activator in these nanoparticles has been checked by luminescence characteristics. These nanoparticles have displayed red color under a UV source. The main emission peak at 612 nm corresponds to the hypersensitive transition between D-5(0) and F-7(2) level of Eu3+ ions. IR analysis has also been performed for the analysis of the nanoparticles. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.