Co-precipitation synthesis of nano Y2O3:Eu3+ with different morphologies and its photoluminescence properties

Yttrium oxide (yttria) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via a simple modified precipitation route in the presence of different surfactants. The effects of surfactant type on structure, morphology and luminescence properties were studied using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning and transmission electron microscope (SEM and TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. Different types of surfactants including nonionic, anionic and cationic were used at 50% of their critical micelle concentration (CMC) point. Also, the surfactant concentration and synthesis temperature were investigated for M2P surfactant. Microstructure and PL analysis showed that the maximum PL intensity was obtained for the cationic surfactant due to the more uniform morphology and size as well as more homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles. Also, the results demonstrated that surfactant concentration has a vital effect on morphology and fluorescent properties of the nanoparticles.