Preparation and structural properties of Lu2O3:Eu3+ submicrometer spherical phosphors

Abstract Monodisperse non-agglomerated Lu 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ submicrometer spheres were obtained by the homogeneous precipitation technique with subsequent annealing for spheres crystallization. The morphological and structural parameters of the Lu 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ crystalline spheres prepared were investigated by the electron microscopy methods, thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron (XPS) and FT-IR spectroscopy. The influence of the annealing temperature on the morphology and sphericity was shown. Eu 3+ -doped lutetium oxide spheres were characterized by effective luminescence under X-ray excitation in the λ  = 575–725 nm range corresponding to 5 D 0  →  7 F J transitions ( J  = 0–4) of Eu 3+ ions. It was shown that the X-ray luminescence efficiency of the Lu 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ spherical phosphors prepared strongly depend on annealing temperature and dopant concentration.