The hydrothermal preparation, crystal structure and photoluminescent properties of GdOOH nanorods

This paper reports the hydrothermal preparation of a new lanthanide compound, nanorod GdOOH, its crystal structure and related photoluminescent properties. Pure phase Gd(OH)(3) nanorods were prepared through a hydrothermal method which later served as the precursor for GdOOH nanorods. HRTEM investigation showed a preferred growth along the c axis for the precursor. GdOOH nanorods were obtained simply by calcinating the precursor at 600 K. Rietveld refinement revealed that the newly found phase belongs to the monoclinic system, with space group P2(1)/m ( No. 11); cell parameter a = 6.086( 1) angstrom, b = 3.7289( 8) angstrom, c = 4.3465( 8) angstrom, and beta = 108.79( 1)degrees. HRTEM also showed the single crystalline nature of the GdOOH nanorods, with a preferred growth also along the c axis direction. When Eu3+ ions were introduced to GdOOH lattice sites which replace the original Gd3+ ions, a strong red emission centred at 615 nm was observed upon UV illumination, due to the intrinsic Eu3+ transition between D-5(0) and F-7 configurations.