Luminescent properties of hybrid nanostructures of ion-exchanged Y2O3:Eu3+ nanoparticles with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone ligands

In this work, Y2O3 precursors were first prepared by a hydrothermal method, and then Eu3+ ions were doped into the Y2O3 precursors by an ion-exchange process. After annealing the precursors, the Eu3+-doped Y2O3 (Y2O3:Eu3+) nanoparticles were successfully obtained. The Y2O3:Eu3+ nanoparticles were then capped with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) ligands to form the Y2O3:Eu3+-TTA hybrid nanostructures. It has been shown that TTA ligands can effectively sensitize the luminescence of Y2O3:Eu3+ nanoparticles. Greatly extended excitation band from 300 nm to 400 nm was observed for the Y2O3:Eu3+-TTA hybrid nanostructures. X-ray diffraction technique, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy were used to characterize the hybrid nanostructures.