High efficiency green-luminescent LaPO4:Ce,Tb hierarchical nanostructures:: Synthesis, characterization, and luminescence properties

High efficiency green-luminescent LaPO4:Ce,Tb hierarchical nanostructures with uniform spindle shape have been successfully constructed by a simple Pluronic P123-assisted hydrothermal approach via self-assembling from single-crystalline nanowires. Their morphologies and structures were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The resulting uniform spindle-shaped microstructures are composed of several tens of aligned single-crystalline nanowires. The surfactant Pluronic P123 was found to play a crucial role in achieving uniform morphology of the final product as compared with the same material but synthesized without the surfactant Pluronic P123. These LaPO4:Ce,Tb spindle-shaped microstructures show efficient photoluminescence which is associated with its surface smoothness, high crystallization and uniform morphologies of the micro-architectures. (C) 2007 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.