Optical and structural properties of Er2O3–ErOOH powder grown by chemical bath

• Thiourea is a key parameter acting as a catalyst to obtain the powders.
• Er2O3 shows an excitonic peak corresponding to 4f–4f transitions.
• Erbium compounds are recognized as the most important rare earth for sensing.

A general approach has been developed for the synthesis of Erbium-Oxide/Erbium Hydroxide (Er2O3–ErOOH) powder at 25 °C via chemical bath. The powder was annealed at 1000 °C in air atmosphere at normal pressure. The FTIR exhibits a characteristic stretching mode of Er–O, a typical FTIR structural band for such groups. The structure of the powders was characterized by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and the results displayed a rhombohedral phase. The band gap is 4.5 eV, and luminescence spectra were observed in six bands at 380–420, 530–580, and 640–690 nm.