LuVO4:RE3+ (RE = Sm, Eu, Dy, Er) phosphors by in-situ chemical precipitation construction of hybrid precursors

In the context, a novel synthesis technology was applied to LuVO4:RE3+ (RE = Sm, Eu, Dy, Er) phosphors for the firstly time. Rare earth coordination polymers with aromatic carboxylic acids were used as the precursors of rare earth oxide components, subsequently polyethylene glycol (PEG) and ammonium vanadate (NH4VO3) were composed to assemble inorganic/organic hybrid polymeric dispersing media by an in-situ chemical coprecipitation process. After heat treatment of the resulting multicomponent hybrid precursors at 1100 °C, LuVO4:RE3+ phosphors were firstly synthesized. Both XRD and SEM indicated the particles presented good crystalline state, whose crystalline grain sizes were in the range of around 0.5–2 μm. The excitation spectra show a broad spectral band in narrow ultraviolet region of 200–350 nm, while no apparent or very weak absorption appears in long-wavelengths region of 350–500 nm. The corresponding emission spectra indicate that these crystalline phosphors exhibit photoluminescence of the characteristic transitions of RE3+. This technology can be expected to apply to prepare high efficient micron rare earth oxylates for practical development in luminescent materials and devices.