Surfactant-assisted sacrificial template-mediated synthesis, characterization and photoluminescent properties of \(\hbox {LaPO}_{4}:\hbox {Eu}^{3+}\) phosphor

In this paper, we report a surfactant-assisted self-sacrificing route for synthesis of $$\text {Eu}^{3+}$$ doped $$\hbox {LaPO}_{4}$$ nanostructures under hydrothermal conditions using the $$\hbox {La(OH)CO}_{3}:\hbox {Eu}^{3+}$$ precursor as a template and $$\hbox {NH}_{4}\hbox {H}_{2}\hbox {PO}_{4}$$ as the phosphate source. The synthesis was carried out in the absence and presence of surfactant [cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)] and two different solvents (water and ethylene glycol). The precursor and products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and photoluminescence studies. Influence of surfactant and solvents on morphology and luminescence of the final product in sacrificial template-assisted method has been investigated in detail. Synopsis: Synthesis of $$\hbox {Eu}^{3+}$$ doped $$\hbox {LaPO}_{4}$$ nanostructures via surfactant-assisted self-sacrificing route under hydrothermal conditions using the $$\hbox {La(OH)CO}_{3}:\hbox {Eu}^{3+}$$ precursor as a template is reported. This route resulted in the formation of uniform and well dispersed morphology with efficient photoluminescent intensity.