Novel 3D flower-like TiO2:Eu3 + hierarchitectures: Hydrothermal synthesis and luminescent properties

• TiO2:Eu3 + microspheres were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method.
• TiO2:Eu3 + microspheres are loose and porous with flower-like structure.
• Mechanism for the formation of TiO2:Eu3 + flower-like microspheres was proposed.
• TiO2:Eu3 + microspheres exhibited excellent red emission under UV light excitation.

Self-assembled 3D flower-like TiO2:Eu3 + microspheres have been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method and crystallized by subsequent heat treatments at elevated temperatures. The as-prepared samples are loose and porous with flower-like structure, and the subunits are irregularly shaped nanosheets. A possible growth mechanism is proposed for the 3D flower-like TiO2:Eu3 + microspheres, and it was found that the synergistic effect of citric acid (H3Cit), ethanediamine (En) and hydrofluoric acid (HF) is of crucial importance for the controllable fabrication of TiO2:Eu3 + flower-like hierarchical structures. Furthermore, the calcined flower-like TiO2:Eu3 + hierarchical microspheres exhibit excellent red emission corresponding to the 5D0–7F2 transition of the Eu3 + ions under UV light excitation.

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