Controlled synthesis and characterization of large-scale, uniform sheet-shaped dysprosium hydroxide nanosquares by hydrothermal method

In this study, we succeed in synthesizing the sheet-shaped dysprosium hydroxide (Dy(OH)3) nanomaterials via a facile hydrothermal method without using any catalysts or templates. The advantages of the method are rapid synthesis at air atmosphere, 100% productive ratio and low cost with a great potential for scale-up. Analytical method such as XRD, FESEM, TEM, HRTEM, SAED, EDS, FT-IR, TG–DSC were employed to characterize the morphology and microstructure of the as-synthesized products. The results reveal that nanosheets could be obtained by using ammonia and sodium hydroxide, and the Dy(OH)3 obtained by adding ammonia possesses uniform sheet-shaped nanosquare morphology with the side length of 200–300 nm and thickness of 20–40 nm. The growth of (0 0 1) plane of nanosheets was confined. The presence of a two dimensional (2D) growth trend was suggested. The role of the alkaline sources and the formation mechanism of such sheet-shaped Dy(OH)3 were discussed.

► The sheet-shaped dysprosium hydroxide nanosquares were successfully synthesized.
► Synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method without using any catalysts or templates.
► The advantages of the method are rapid synthesis at air atmosphere, 100% productive ratio and low cost.
► It can be easily scaled up and might represent a promising method for industrial production.
► The role of the alkaline sources and the formation mechanism were discussed.