Single crystal and nanocrystalline Pr3+ doped LuPO4: Synthesis, structural characterization, photo- and cathodoluminescence

• A new synthetic approach to the synthesis of LuPO4:Pr3+ nanopowders is proposed.
• Their structural and morphological characterization has been carried out.
• Luminescence spectra are intense for single crystal and nanocrystalline LuPO4:Pr3+.
• Both morphologies originate efficient cathodoluminescence in the visible region.
• Single crystals show also 5d–4f cathodoluminescence located in the UV region.

Single crystals and nanopowders of LuPO4 doped with 1 mol% Pr3+ have been synthesized using flux growth and coprecipitation techniques, respectively. The nanocrystalline powders have been thoroughly characterized from a structural and morphological point of view. The photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence spectra of the two materials have been measured. The spectra evidence both 5d–4f and 4f–4f emission bands located in the UV and visible regions; the relative intensities of the former are reduced in the nanopowders. This behaviour is attributed to surface quenching effects. The decay curves of the nanopowders relative to the 4f–4f transitions also appear to be affected by quenching with respect to their counterparts in the single crystal.

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