Synthesis and luminescence characteristics of Eu3+-doped ZrO2 nanoparticles

Eu3+-doped ZrO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by the solvothermal method at mild temperature of 250 °C. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements have identified the particles with a size of 4 nm in the ZrO2 tetragonal phase. Tetragonal to monoclinic phase transformation was found to exist within the sintering temperature range 900–1200 °C and above that temperature only monoclinic phase is present. The photoluminescence and decay curves were measured. The maximum of luminescence appeared at 613 and 607 nm due to Eu3+ ions in the monoclinic and tetragonal phases, respectively. Oscillator strength of monoclinic-phase calculated from the lifetime is 5 times greater than that of tetragonal-phase.