Preparation of YVO4:RE (RE=Yb3+/Er3+, Yb3+/Tm3+) nanoparticles via microemulsion-mediated hydrothermal method

A microemulsion-mediated hydrothermal method for synthesis of YVO4:RE (RE=Yb3+/Er3+, Yb3+/Tm3+) nanoparticles by hydrothermal treatment of quaternary microemulsion medium consisting of Na3VO4/NaOH and RE(NO3)3 aqueous solution, surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), cosurfactant n-hexanol and oil phase n-heptane was report. The confinement of microemulsion droplets acting as microreactors during the reaction process allows the formation of small size YVO4:RE nanoparticles with relatively narrow size distribution and less aggregation. The structure, size and shape of YVO4:RE nanoparticles were investigated by means of X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Compared with the conventional solid annealing diffusion method, the microemulsion-mediated hydrothermal method shows superiority in obtaining YVO4:RE nanoparticles with controllable size, narrow size distribution and less aggregation. The microemulsion-mediated hydrothermal method may be potentially applicable for synthesis of other rare earth doped up-converting luminescence nanomaterials.