Photoluminescent Properties of Ce3+ Doped MIIIMVO4 (MIII:La, Y; MV:V, P) Nanocrystals Prepared through Facile Wet Process

Nanometer-sized MIIIMVO4 (MIII:La, Y; MV:V, P) particles doped with Ce3+ ions were prepared from alkaline alcohol-water mixture with MIII (NO3)3, CeCl3 and H3PO4 (or NH4VO4) under reflux (355 K). The maximum peak position of photoluminescent emissions for MIIIMVO4:Ce particles centered around 350-450 nm were strongly affected by host anions (PO4 3-, VO4 3-) in contrast to host cations (La3+, Y3+). The maximum external quantum efficiency in this work was 18.3% for LaPO4 nanocrystals doped with 0.5 mol% of Ce3+ ions, whereas those of MIIIVO4:Ce were extremely low since most of Ce3+ ions added in the ethanol-water mixture were oxidized to Ce4+ ions under reflux.