Facile synthesis, characterization, formation mechanism and photoluminescence property of Eu2O3 nanorods

A large-scale synthesis of uniform Eu2O3 nanorods was realized without templates by a simple precipitation method under ambient pressure with the subsequent calcination. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. It is demonstrated that the Eu2O3 nanorods with the pure body-centered cubic structure have a diameter of ∼20 nm and a length of 100–300 nm. The influence of reaction temperature, solution concentration, and reaction time on the formation of nanorods is investigated, and the possible growth mechanism is also discussed. The room temperature photoluminescence analysis shows that Eu2O3 nanorods have a strong red emission peak of Eu3+ ion at around 611 nm due to the 5D0 → 7F2 forced electric dipole transition of Eu3+ ions.