Fabrication and optical properties of Eu3+-doped ZnO nanospheres and nanorods

We have fabricated Eu3+-doped ZnO (ZnO:Eu3+) nanocrystals with different size and shape (nanospheres and nanorods) by a reverse micelle method and have studied their photoluminescence (PL) properties. The ZnO:Eu3+ nanospheres and nanorods exhibit the PL due to intra-4f transitions of the Eu3+ ions under direct photoexcitation of Eu3+ ions and the charge-transfer states. The excitation energy and temperature dependence of the PL spectra of the ZnO:Eu3+ nanospheres and nanorods are studied, and the excitation mechanism of the Eu3+ ions is discussed.