A facile route to synthesize luminescent YVO4:Eu3+ porous nanoplates

Porous nanoplates made of yttrium orthovanadate doped with europeum (YVO4:Eu3+) have been successfully synthesized via a chemical co-precipitation method using NH4VO3, Y2O3, Eu2O3 and ethylene glycol. To investigate the effect of temperature on the pore size and morphology of the final product, the as-synthesized YVO4:Eu3+ nanoplates were subjected to heat treatment at 300 and 600 °C for 2 h. The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffractometion, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The experimental results showed that the luminescent properties were significantly enhanced with increasing pore size of the YVO4:Eu3+ porous nanoplates.