Terbium‐Doped Layered Yttrium Hydroxide Nanocone: Controlled Synthesis, Structure Variations, Phase Conversion to Oxide/Oxysulfate Nanocone and Their Luminescence Properties

Abstract

AbstractIt is demonstrated herein that a series of terbium ions (Tb3+)‐doped layered yttrium hydroxide (LYH:Tb) nanocones (NCs) intercalating dodecyl sulfate (C12H25SO4, DS) anions can be successfully synthesized in large quantities through a facile hydrothermal strategy. The DS anions in the interlayer gallery of LYH:Tb NCs can be readily modified with various anions (such as NO3 −, Cl−, and CH3COO−) through a convenient anion‐exchange procedure. The luminescent properties of LYH:Tb NCs are sensitively influenced by the dopant concentration and the interlayer anions. In particular, the original DS−‐intercalated form and the anion‐exchanged product can be topotactically converted into oxysulfates and oxides with original conical features through a calcination process at 750 °C for 2 h, respectively. Compared with Y2O3:Tb NCs, Y2O2SO4:Tb NCs exhibit efficient luminescent properties due to the stronger deformation of the crystal field. More interestingly, the conical structures also exhibit superior luminescent properties over the lamellar objects, originating from the extreme curvature and perturbation of crystal field, which are promising candidates for potential applications in optical and display devices.