Hydrothermal synthesis, morphology and luminescent properties of GdAlO3:Eu3+ microcrystals

• GdAlO3:xEu3+ powders were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal reaction.
• Gd0.95Eu0.05AlO3 samples are composed of microcrystals with the rectangular shape.
• The main emissions of GdAlO3:Eu3+ are attributed to 5D0 → 7FJ (J = 1, 2) transitions.

Hydrothermal syntheses of GdAlO3 and GdAlO3:Eu3+ microcrystals were reported, and the effects of reaction temperature and NaOH concentration on the formation of GdAlO3 were discussed. The crystal structure, morphologies, composition and luminescent properties of the obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. XRD results indicate all X-ray diffraction patterns of the synthesized samples were indexed by an orthorhombic system with the space group of Pbnm(62#). SEM image exhibits the uniform rectangular shapes of the as-synthesized GdAlO3:0.05Eu3+ microcrystals with the sizes of about 3–6 μm. The PL spectrum shows that the main emissions of GdAlO3:Eu3+ are attributed to the 5D0 → 7F1 and 5D0 → 7F2 transitions of Eu3+. The host absorption of GdAlO3:Eu3+ in VUV region is weaker than that of the O2− → Eu3+ charge transfer band.

SEM image shows that the hydrothermally synthesized Gd0.95Eu0.05AlO3 samples are composed of monocrystalline microcrystals (mean size of 3–6 μm) with the rectangular shape, its size and morphology are consistent. The samples (the inset in Figure) are highly crystalline with the characteristics of the orthorhombic system.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide