The studies of Gd2O3:Eu3+ hollow nanospheres with magnetic and luminescent properties

•H-Gd2O3:Eu3+ nanospheres with magnetic and luminescence properties were prepared.•The hollow structure improved the luminescent intensity in contrast to solid spheres.•The hollow structure declined the M value compared to the solid structure.•The color purity, local environment of Eu3+ changed with the calcination temperature.•The magnetization also varied with the calcination temperature.

Hollow Gd2O3:Eu3+ (denoted as H-Gd2O3:Eu3+) nanospheres with excellent magnetic and luminescence properties were prepared through a self-template method using Gd(OH)CO3:Eu as template to form hollow precursors. The size of Gd2O3:Eu3+ shell is 20 nm for H-Gd2O3:Eu3+ nanospheres annealed at 600 °C with particle diameter of 200 nm. The hollow structure improved the luminescent intensity in contrast to solid spheres. The systematic studies about the effect of calcination temperature on the luminescence and magnetic properties were reported. Luminescent spectra shows that the I610/590 (asymmetry factor of luminescence) varies with the calcination temperature, indicating that the color purity and local environment of Eu3+ in Gd2O3 changes. Moreover, the magnetization (M) becomes stronger while increasing the calcination temperature. The H-Gd2O3:Eu3+ nanospheres may have potential application in magnetic resonance image (MRI), drug delivery, and drug loading and release.

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