Preparation and luminescence properties of terbium-doped lanthanum oxide nanofibers by electrospinning

Terbium-doped lanthanum oxide (La2O3:Tb3+) nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning followed by calcination at high temperature. Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and photoluminescence (PL) were used to characterize the obtained fibers. The results reveal that the nanofibers have an average diameter of ca. 95±25 nm and are composed of pure La2O3 phase. Under the excitation of 274 nm light, the La2O3:Tb3+ nanofibers exhibit the characteristic emission resulting from the 5D4→7FJ (J=3, 4, 5, 6) transitions of Tb3+ ions. And the PL emission intensity is stronger than that of their nanoparticle counterparts.