Mild hydrothermal synthesis and photoluminescence of needle-like Y(OH)1.1F1.9:Tb3+

Undoped and Tb-doped Y(OH)(1.1)F-1.9 samples with needle-like morphology are obtained by hydrothermal method with benzoic acid as surfactant at the mild reaction temperature of 160 degrees C. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the crystal structures of the as-obtained samples are hexagonal UCl3-structure type. The existence of hydroxyl group (OH-) is confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The composition is determined to be Y(OH)(1.1)F-1.9 for the undoped sample by chemical analysis, consistent with the mass loss from thermogravimetric measurement. Electron microscopic images show the needle-like morphology constructed by single-crystal curled slices. Y(OH)(1.1)F-1.9:5%Tb3+ exhibits a favorable fluorescent property symbolized by the characteristic green emission at 544 nm resulting from the D-5(4)-> F-7(5) transition of Tb3+. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.