Abstract
In this work, we report a facile synthesis of highly uniform and well-dispersed GdPO4:Eu3+ hollow microspheres (around 2.1μm) via a urea-based homogeneous precipitation technique with colloidal melamine formaldehyde (MF) microspheres as templates and NH4H2PO4 as a phosphorus source without calcination process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) results show that the MF templates can be effectively removed, and the precursor Gd2O(CO3)2·H2O:Eu3+ has also converted to crystalline GdPO4:Eu3+ during the hydrothermal process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images indicate that the GdPO4:Eu3+ hollow spheres inherit a spherical shape and good dispersion of MF template, and the thickness of the shell is about 180nm. In addition, Eu3+ doped GdPO4 hollow spheres exhibit strong orange–red emission, corresponding to the characteristic transitions of 5D0→7F1, 2, 3, 4 of Eu3+, with 5D0→7F1 transition as the most prominent group. Furthermore, this synthesis route may be of great significance in the preparation of other hollow phosphate spherical materials.
Published Version
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