Microwave-assisted synthesis and characterization of Y2O3 : Eu(III)-benzoate hybrid nanophosphors

The optical and structural characteristics of Y2O3 : Eu (III)-benzoate hybrid nanophosphors, synthesized by the microwave-assisted solvothermal technique, are reported in this work. Benzyl alcohol was used during the synthesis, carried out at low temperatures in the microwave reactor, to obtain the Y2O3 : Eu(III)-benzoate-layered hybrid nanophosphors. The benzyl alcohol led to the incorporation of benzene rings (belonging to benzoate group) around the Y2O3 : Eu(III) molecules, promoting a lamellar structure and showing the previously reported luminescent “antenna effect” in the nanophosphors. Y2O3 : Eu(III)-benzoate nanophosphors showed a high photoluminescence emission intensity at 590, 612, 650, and 697 nm due to the interelectronic D05 to F17, F27, F37, and F74 transitions of the europium ions. A stark split might be present due to the variation of the annealing temperature given to the Y2O3 : Eu(III)-benzoate nanophosphors. The nanostructured hybrids showed the appearance of complex morphologies similar to flower petals. The as-obtained nanophosphors were in the range of ∼20 nm and showed the reported x-ray diffraction reflections for these kinds of materials.