Novel polyhedron Y1−x Dy x VO4 nanocrystals: hydrothermal synthesis and luminescence properties

Abstract

Novel polyhedron Y1−x Dy x VO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) nanocrystals were synthesized via a hydrothermal route in ethylene glycol–water mixtures at 150 °C for 25 h. The characterizations from X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectra revealed that polyhedron-like Y1−x Dy x VO4 single crystals with size of 20–100 nm were structurally uniform. The as-prepared polyhedron Y1−x Dy x VO4 performed excellent chromaticity and higher ratio of yellow (4F9/2 → 6H13/2) to blue (4F9/2 → 6H15/2) emissions compared with Y1−x Dy x VO4 irregular nanoparticles, which were mainly due to low site symmetry resulting from the crystallite size and crystallization increased. The formation mechanism had been proposed. Crucial influencing factors such as the pH value, reaction temperature, and time on the morphologies of the final products had also been discussed. The newly discovered uniform morphology of the products maybe has good potential in related future applications.