Investigation on YF3:Eu3+ architectures and their luminescence properties

Abstract

Highly dispersed YF₃:Eu³⁺ architectures with different morphologies are obtained via a low temperature solid-state reaction process by tuning the fluoride source. With increase of the calcination temperature from 400 °C to 1000 °C, the products undergo an obvious matrix transformation from yttrium fluoride to yttrium oxide fluoride, and then to yttrium oxide. The local symmetry of the optically active Eu³⁺ ions decreases with increase of the calcination temperature at the lower calcination temperature region, and then keeps almost unchanged when the temperature is over 700 °C. Different luminescence properties of the as-prepared YF₃:Eu³⁺ architectures and the products calcinated at different calcination temperatures are observed even for the samples with the same contents. The study may have special significance on the large-scale fabrication of other lanthanide fluoride luminescent materials.