Self-assembled Y2SiO5 superstructures: A high temperature method with mixed flux

This work describes a simple route to synthesize high temperature phase (X2) Y2SiO5 superstructures assembled with nanoplates and particles. Two different novel morphologies, sphere-like superstructures assembled by plates and particles, were obtained by controlling the ratio of added salts as flux. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technologies. The mixture of 3 wt.% AlF3-5 wt.% NaCl or 2 wt.% BaCl2-5 wt.% NaCl were found to be important for the generation of X2-Y2SiO5 superstructures. Luminescent properties of the Ce3+ doped Y2SiO5 samples were also investigated. The fluxes played an important role in this method on phase transformation and improving luminescent intensity.