Synthesis and luminescence properties of YVO4:Dy3+ nanorods

Dy3+-doped YVO4 nanorods were synthesized via a low temperature hydrothermal route in n-propyl alcohol–water mixtures at 150 °C. The structures and optical properties of products were investigated using the X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The results showed that these nanorods might be fabricated through dissolving of small particles and the depositing of components on large particles. The photoluminescence (PL) measurements showed that these nanorods exhibited improved chromaticity compared with YVO4:Dy3+ irregular nanoparticles. It can be ascribed to the perfect crystal structure of nanorods. From PL spectra, it is found that YVO4:Dy3+ nanorods annealed at higher temperature have higher ratio of yellow (4F9/2 → 6H13/2) to blue (4F9/2 → 6H15/2) emissions, which ascribe to high site symmetry resulting from the crystallite size and crystallization increased.