Controlled synthesis and tunable luminescence of NaYF 4:Eu 3+

Abstract

High quality NaYF 4:Eu 3+ luminescent materials were successfully synthesized via a facile template technique by hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and fluorescence spectroscopy (FS). The incorporating of Eu 3+ ions into NaYF 4 crystal lattice influenced the symmetry types of NaYF 4 crystals, resulting in phase transformation of NaYF 4 crystals between α and β phase. The pure hexagonal phase of branched NaYF 4: Eu 3+ was obtained as the Eu 3+ concentration reached 15 mol.%. In addition, the luminescence color was tuned by changing the doping concentration of Eu 3+ ions.