Mild hydrothermal solid-phase synthesis of YVO4 nanocrystals

The tetragonal YVO4 nanocrystals are facilely prepared via a hydrothermal solid-phase synthesis method directly utilizing bulk phase materials of V2O5 and Y2O3 as precursor. Whether additives (acid and EDTA) exist or not, the reaction can be performed in the mild temperature range from 130 to 200 °C. The products are characterized with XRD, FTIR, TEM and PL. The effect of acid and amounts of EDTA on the morphology of the product is investigated. The YVO4 nanoparticles exhibit novel photoluminescence emission bands at 330 and 606 nm under 254 nm excitation. A growth mechanism of yttrium orthovanadate is proposed.