Structure and luminescence properties of Eu3+ doped TiO2 nanocrystals and prolate nanospheroids synthesized by the hydrothermal processing

We report on a new approach to the synthesis of Eu3+ doped TiO2 nanocrystals and prolate nanospheroids. They were synthesized by shape transformation of hydrothermally treated titania nanotubes at different pH and in the presence of Eu3+ ions. The use of nanotubes as a precursor to the synthesis of Eu3+ doped TiO2 nanocrystals and prolate nanospheroids opens the possibility of overcoming the problems related to molecular precursors. The shapes and sizes of the nanotubes, Eu3+ doped TiO2 nanocrystals and prolate nanospheroids were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique. Crystal structures of the resultant powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The percentage ratio of Eu3+ to Ti4+ ions in doped nanocrystals was determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The optical characterization was done by using fluorescence and ultraviolet-visible reflection spectroscopies. An average size of faceted Eu3+ doped TiO2 nanocrystals was 13 nm. The lateral dimensions of Eu3+ doped TiO2 prolate nanospheroids varied from 14 to 20 nm, while the length varied from 40 to 80 nm, depending on precursor concentrations. The XRD patterns revealed the homogeneous anatase crystal phase of Eu3+ doped TiO2 nanocrystals and prolate nanospheroids independently of the amount of dopant. A postsynthetic treatment (filtration or dialysis) was applied on the dispersions of the doped nanoparticles in order to study the influence of the dopant position on photoluminescence (PL) spectra. In the red spectral region, room temperature PL signals associated with 5D0 → 7FJ (J = 1–4) transitions of Eu3+ were observed in all samples. The increased contribution of dopants from the interior region of dialyzed nanocrystals to photoluminescence was confirmed by the increase of R value.