Synthesis and characterization of the crystalline powders on the basis of Lu2O3:Eu3+spherical submicron-sized particles

This study is devoted to the preparation of the crystalline powders on the basis of non-agglomerated monodisperse Lu2O3:Eu3+ spherical particles with the diameters in the range of 50–250 nm by the soft chemistry co-precipitation route. The influence of the synthesis parameters on control morphology, particles size and agglomeration in the final Lu2O3:Eu3+ powder was considered. Lu2O3:Eu3+ crystalline powders were characterized by means of electron microscopy methods (TEM, SEM), FT-IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and X-ray diffractometry. The mechanisms of the precursor decomposition and crystallization at the temperatures ranging from 60 to 900 °C were discussed. It was shown that the powders obtained were characterized by the effective luminescence under X-ray excitation in λ = 575–725 nm spectral region corresponding to 5D0 → 7FJ transitions (J = 0–4) of Eu3+ ions with a maximum at 612 nm and the luminescence intensity strongly depends on annealing temperature. The relative densities of the green-bodies on the basis of Lu2O3:Eu3+ powders were estimated and the sintering of compacts at the temperatures up to 1500 °C was studied.